Suffocate
by ImagxIxnatioN
Summary: Contessa 'Tess' Calloway, Mark Calloway's daughter, joins Mark on the road after the death of her mother. Everything seems to be going well, until another tragedy strikes Tess. What happens to her?
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own the WWE/TitanSports. I am just a lowly fan, trying to write an interesting fic...:) Anyways, I hope you all enjoy it!   
  
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Chapter One  
  
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"How much longer is this going to take, Mark? We have a show in an hour and a half!" Paul said, checking his watch.   
  
"Her flight should be landing and unloading any minute." Mark replied. Paul just nodded. A few minutes later, the flight was called and people started making their way out of the terminal. Mark stood up and looked for his daughter over the heads of all the other people coming off of the flight. This wasn't a problem though, considering his height. He finally spotted her and walked over to her. He pulled her into a light hug.   
  
"Hey, Tess." He said as they walked over towards Paul. "This is Paul Levesque, also known as Triple H." Paul nodded his hello. Tess looked down and returned the nod. They got her bags and walked outside towards Mark's rental car.   
  
"Go ahead and drop me off by the arena, I need to warm up. My match is first." Paul said. They arrived at the arena about fifteen minutes later.  
  
"Tess, would you like to go in and meet some of the other wrestlers?" Mark asked her.   
  
"Alright." She said quietly. Mark nodded and they both got out of the car. Mark could understand why Tess was being so distant; she had just lost her mother a few months back and was living with her Aunt, before deciding to join Mark on the road.   
  
"Mark, who's this little hot thing you have with you? I didn't know you were into younger girls..." one guy said to Mark back stage. Tess looked up at him. He had sandy blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. Mark glared at him and took a step towards him.  
  
"This is my daughter, Chris. Stay away from her." Mark growled before grabbing Tess by her arm and dragging her towards catering.   
  
"That was Chris Irvine, Chris Jericho to his fans. Stay away from him. He's nothing but trouble." He said to Tess.   
  
"Hey, Mark." Said another guy as he walked up to them. "This is Tess, I presume?"   
  
"Yep. Tess, this is Rob Szatkowski, also known as Rob Van Dam." Mark introduced them.   
  
"Hey Tess. I'm glad to meet you." Rob said, offering her his hand. She smiled slightly and shook his hand. He returned the smile.  
  
"Rob, can you take her around and introduce her to some more of the roster? I have to get ready for my match with Dwayne later." Mark said. Rob nodded and Mark kissed Tess on the cheek.  
  
"You're safe with Rob. Try to make some new friends, okay?" He said before walking off. Rob motioned for her to follow him and they walked back towards the locker rooms.  
  
"I heard about your mom, I'm really sorry about that." He said to her.   
  
"It's alright...it was really tough, when it first happened, but I'm starting to cope with it." Tess said.  
  
"I know it's nowhere near the loss you've had, but I kind of know what you're going through right now. My wife and I are going through a messy divorce right now." Rob said.  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that." Tess replied.  
  
"Ah, no worries. I think my heart will mend, especially with someone as pretty as you running around here." Rob grinned and winked at her. She returned the grin and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I wish." Tess said. She never thought she was very pretty. She had long, dark brown hair that was thick and wavy, light green eyes, and a nice, feminine figure. She was short, only 5'4", but she carried herself well.  
  
"You know you are." Rob replied. "C'mon, I want to introduce you to Amy and Trish." He said, leading her towards the woman's locker room. He knocked on the door when they got there. "Everyone decent?" he asked.  
  
"Yep, come on in." said a voice from inside. Rob opened the door and motioned for Tess to go in.  
  
"Hey Rob. Who's your friend?" asked a girl with long red hair. She had on a green crop top with a hot pink fishnet top over it, and dark green baggy pants.  
  
"Hey Amy. This is Tess Calloway, Mark's daughter." He said. "Tess, this is Amy Dumas, otherwise known as Lita." Amy smiled at her.  
  
"Hey Tess. We're glad to have you here." She said. She then motioned over a very tan, very blonde woman. "This is Trish Stratus."  
  
"Hi Trish." Tess said with a smile. Trish returned the smile.  
  
"I'm gonna leave you here with Amy, okay? I have a match tonight, and I need to get ready for it." Rob said.  
  
"Alright. Good luck." Tess said. He smiled at her and walked out of the room. She then turned towards Amy and Trish.  
  
"It's going to be great having another girl around." Trish said. "All Stacy and Torrie talk about is who they were with last night..." she grinned.  
  
"I'm glad to be here." Tess said. The three girls sat around in the locker room and talked until the end of the show, when Mark came and got Tess.   
  
"Daddy, is it alright if I go shopping with Amy and Trish tomorrow?" she asked.  
  
"Well...alright. Trish, Amy, I'm trusting you two with my baby girl tomorrow. Take good care of her and have her back her by show time." He said. Amy and Trish nodded and said their goodbyes, and Mark and Tess went out to their rental car and off to the hotel.   
  
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	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: Same as before...just trying to entertain you all! :)  
  
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Chapter Two  
  
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"Wake up, Tess." Mark said the next morning, shaking her shoulder lightly. She grunted and rolled over. Mark shook her again and she reluctantly got up. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and walked over to her suitcase. She pulled out a pair of jeans and a light pink t-shirt, and headed towards the bathroom. After taking a hot shower and drying her hair, she returned to the room to see Trish and Amy sitting on her bed.   
  
"Hey, chick." Amy said. Tess smiled and ran a hand through her hair. "Mark already left, but he left this here for you. He said you could spend however much you wanted to."   
  
"Great. I could use some new outfits." Tess said, picking up the platinum card with a grin.   
  
"Well, c'mon then, lets go!" Trish said, standing up. They walked out of the hotel room and over to the elevator.   
  
"Morning ladies. You're all looking lovely as usual." Chris said as he walked up to them. They were waiting for the elevator.   
  
"Hey, Chris." Trish said. Amy nodded her hello.  
  
"Aw, no hello for me, Tess?" he said with a smirk.  
  
"My father told me to stay away from you." She said, crossing her arms over her chest.   
  
"Always do everything daddy says? I thought you women could think for yourself..." he muttered as he rolled his eyes. Tess glared at him and stepped up in his face.  
  
"I can think for myself, but if my dad tells me to stay away from you, I'm going to stay away from you. I don't want to be around assholes like you, anyways."   
  
"Keep telling yourself that, little girl. Watch your back." Chris said, then walked off.  
  
"Is he always so damn annoying?" Tess asked, turning back to Trish and Amy.   
  
"Yes. You sure as hell told him off, girl." Trish said, laughing. The elevator dinged and the stepped into it, pressing the button for the first floor. A couple of floors down the elevator stopped and the doors opened, letting two guys walk in.  
  
"Hey Adam, Jay." Amy said to the two.   
  
"Hey ladies. Who's your friend?" one of them asked.  
  
"This is Tess Calloway, Mark's daughter." Amy introduced them.  
  
"Glad to meet you. I'm Jay Reso, or Christian." One said with a smile.  
  
"Nice to meet you."  
  
"And I'm Adam Copeland, also known as Edge." The other said. Amy, Trish, Adam, and Jay talked about that nights show until the elevator dinged, and they all got out and went their separate ways. Tess and the girls spent hours at the mall before returning to Amy's rental.   
  
"God, that was so much fun." Tess said with a huge smile on her face.   
  
"We'll have to do it again sometime. I'm off a few days next week, maybe we can do again then." Amy said. "Are you off then, Trish?"  
  
"No, I have autograph signings and appearances all next week." Trish replied.   
  
"That sucks." Tess said. They arrived at the arena a few minutes later. Tess got her bags out of the car and walked in through the back door, making her way to catering. She spotted Mark and Paul, and walked over to them.  
  
"Hey Daddy, Paul." She said with a smile, setting her bags down and giving her father a hug.  
  
"Did you have a good day, Tess?" Mark asked. Tess nodded. "You can drop your bags off in my dressing room. I have to go now, I have a match first." He said as he walked off. Tess gathered up her bags and made her way to Mark's locker room. She dropped the bags off inside and walked back out.  
  
"Hey gorgeous." She recognized Chris say behind her. She rolled her eyes and turned to face him.  
  
"What do you want, Chris?" she asked.  
  
"You know what I want. Stop with the cold front, I'm not gonna hurt you." He took a step closer to her. Tess glared at him.  
  
"I know you're not gonna hurt me. You're not going to do shit to me." She growled.   
  
"Stop being such a bitch, Tess. I know you want me." After he said that, he pressed her hard against the wall by her upper arms and forced his lips on hers. She struggled underneath him, but he was too strong for her. His tongue poked entrance in her mouth, and that's where she took her chance. She bit down on his tongue and pushed him off of her. She heard Chris yelling after her as she took off down the hallway, and ducked into the closest room. She was relieved to find the room empty, and slammed the door shut. She sank down against the wall and pulled her knees up to her chest. She felt tears burning beneath her eyelids as she wrapped her arms around her knees, and allowed them to fall.   
  
"Tess, are you alright?" she heard a concerned voice ask a few seconds later. She blinked up through her tears and saw Rob kneeling down beside her. "Come here," he said, gently helping her up and leading her over to one of the benches. "Tell me what happened." She brushed her tears away with the back of her hands and retold the story to him. She was crying again by the end of it.   
  
"It's not fair! Honestly! I've been here one damn day and I'm already being harassed!" she said, brushing her tears away again. Rob wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a comforting hug.   
  
"It'll be okay, Tess. Don't cry, please. I'm gonna talk to your dad about this, he'll rip Chris's face off. And I promise you this, I'll be here to keep him away from you as much as I can, alright? If I'm not here, Adam or Jay or Paul or Glenn or someone else will be." Rob said. Tess wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him close to her.  
  
"Thank you so much Rob, I really appreciate that. I don't know what Chris's problem is, but I'm scared of what he can do." she said quietly.  
  
"It's not a problem. You've only been here a day, girl, but you got people to really liking you." he said with a smile. She returned the smile slightly.  
  
"See, there's that pretty smile we all love." Rob said. He then stood up, and took her hand in his. "C'mon, lets go find your dad and tell him about this." they walked out of the room and over towards catering, where Paul and Dwayne were talking. Rob led Tess over to one of the moniters.  
  
"My dad's still in his match," she said, looking into it. He was in a match against Glenn, and right now, Glenn was beating the hell out of him.  
  
"It should be over soon, your dad is supposed to win." Rob said. They watched until the end of the match. Soon after, Mark came back to catering.  
  
"Mark, we need to talk." Rob said, standing up. Tess stood up next to him.  
  
"About?" Mark asked.  
  
"Chris. He was harassing Tess earlier."   
  
"What? I'll rip that little punk's head off of his body..." Mark said in a low voice.  
  
"He pushed me up against the wall and kissed me, and I bit his tongue and ducked into one of the dressing rooms. Rob calmed me down." Tess piped up. Mark nodded.  
  
  
  
"I told Tess that I would always try to be there to keep Chris away from her, and that if I couldn't be, someone would . I also think we need to train her a little bit, just so she can have some self defense other than biting tongues." Rob said.  
  
"I don't know about that, Rob. She could get hurt." Mark replied.  
  
"We take that risk everyday, Mark. I think we should let her decide if she wants to or not."  
  
"I think it would be a good idea, Daddy." Tess said. "I was thinking about asking you if I could anyways. I've been watching you and Amy and some of the other wrestlers, and it seems really fun." Mark looked at her intently.  
  
"Are you one hundred percent sure about this, Tess? It's hard work, and it's risky." he said.  
  
"I'm positive." she replied.  
  
"Alright," Mark nodded. "Ask Trish or Amy if you can borrow some workout clothes for tomorrow, we'll get you some stuff of your own over the weekend."   
  
"Thank you, Daddy!" Tess said with a huge smile on her face as she kissed her father on the cheek. She then ran off towards the locker rooms to tell Amy and Trish.  
  
"I'll help you train her." Rob said. Mark nodded.  
  
"Thanks. And I also really appreciate you helping to look after her."   
  
"It's really no problem at all. She's a sweetheart." Rob said, before walking off towards his locker room.  
  
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	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: Same as the other two chapters...enjoy!  
  
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Chapter Three  
  
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The next morning, Tess was up with the sun. She took a quick shower and dressed in the workout clothes Amy let her borrow, and pulled her still-damp hair into a ponytail. Mark was just stirring when she came back out into the room.  
  
"Morning, Daddy." she said, stuffing her pajamas into her suitcase. Mark muttered a low 'morning' before making his way to the bathroom. Tess grabbed her empty light pink gym bag and the knee and elbow pads Trish let her borrow and layed them inside the bag, along with a towel. Mark came back into the room a few minutes later.  
  
"Ready to go?" he asked. Tess nodded and grabbed her bag. "I'm not going to be able to train with you today, I'm sorry. I have autograph signings and apperances all day. But Rob and Amy said that they would start your training."  
  
"Alright." Tess said. She stood up and grabbed a bottle of water out of the mini fridge, when there was a knock at the door. Mark walked over and opened it. Chris stood at the door.  
  
"What do you want?" Mark asked in an annoyed voice.  
  
"I just wanted to apologize to Tess." Chris said. He looked over at her. "I shouldn't have done that yesterday. I'm sorry." he said.  
  
"Apology accepted." Tess said, but didn't smile.  
  
"You still stay away from her, Chris. If one hair on her head is out of place and it's because of you, you will have hell to pay." Mark growled. Chris nodded and walked off. Tess rolled her eyes and picked up her gym bag and walked out the door, with Mark in tow. They walked out to the parking lot and Tess tossed her bag into the back of the rental and climbed in the front seat. She got her portable cd player from the backseat and slipped her headphones on. Incubus blared through her headphones all the way to the local gym.  
  
"Alright, you should be able to find the weight room eaisly. I gotta go now. Have a good day." Mark said, placing a kiss on Tess's cheek.  
  
"See you later." she replied before walking through the back entrance. Amy was waiting for her at the front entrance.  
  
"Morning chick." she said.   
  
"Morning Amy. Where's Rob?" Tess asked.  
  
"He's already in the weight room. C'mon, Trish said you could borrow a pair of her boots to work out in until Mark can get you some of your own." They walked back to the women's locker room. Tess pulled her elbow pads and knee pads on, and then laced up the boots Trish let her borrow.   
  
"Is this what you always work out in?" Tess asked, refering to the sports bra and spandex shorts she was wearing.  
  
"Yep. It allows the most flexibility." Amy replied, pulling her hair up into a ponytail. She smiled and walked off towards the weight room.  
  
"Morning ladies." Rob said as they entered the weight room. Tess smiled and waved.  
  
  
  
"Morning Rob." Amy said.  
  
"Alright, first thing, you need to start working with weights every morning." Rob said, leading Tess over to the weights. "And we're going to work you out in the ring everyday."  
  
"Okay." Tess, Amy, and Rob worked with the weights for about half an hour before moving into the ring.  
  
"We're going to start you out on the basics, and after you get them down, you can decided on what style you want to start wrestling in." Amy said. Tess nodded. The first thing she was taught was an arm drag, and she picked it up almost instantly. They proceeded to teach her leg drops and chops, both of which she picked up with ease.   
  
"God, you're a natural, Tess." Rob said. She smiled at him. He returned the smile and she was suprised to find herself blushing slightly. She quickly regained her composure and went back to training. She learned a few moderately difficult moves before the day was over.   
  
"That was really fun." Tess said she, Amy, and Rob walked out of the weight room.  
  
"You did great. Vince will put you on the roster in no time." Rob said.  
  
"I dunno about that." Tess replied. "I did just start today."  
  
"I know, but if you keep training and picking up things the way you are now, he will definately sign you on." Rob said as he whiped the sweat off of his forehead with his towel.  
  
"Having the Undertaker as your dad helps out some too, I'd say." Tess said with a grin. Rob grinned back.  
  
"Hun, if you get on the roster, it's all because of your own talent." Amy piped up.  
  
"I think I might ask Vince if I can start out valeting." Tess said as she walked over to a bench and sat down. Amy and Rob joined her.  
  
"You could start valeting now, there's nothing to that." Amy said. "It'd be a great experience for you."  
  
"I'll ask him about that at the show tonight." Tess said, smiling.   
  
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Tess walked up to the door leading to Vince's office about an hour before the show that night. She tapped lightly on the door three times and waited. After a minute, she heard a 'come in.'  
  
"Hello, Mr. McMahon." she said polietly as she stepped into the room.  
  
"Hello, Tess. And please, call me Vince." he said, flashing her a small smile.  
  
"Alright, Vince. I came in here to talk to you about something..." she trailed off.  
  
"Yes?" he asked.  
  
"I was wondering if I could valet." she said quickly. He looked at her, then looked as if he was in thought for a moment.  
  
"It could work...you're young, have a great body, and you're definately beautiful...we could use a new valet. Have you thought any about wrestling?" Vince said.  
  
"I started training this morning." Tess replied. He nodded.  
  
"Good. We really do need a new Diva. Yes, you can valet until you're done with your basic training." he said, smiling. She jumped up, a huge smile on her face.  
  
"Thank you so much!! Do you want me to start at the next show?" she asked.  
  
"Yes." he replied. "We'll have the seamstress work on some outfits for you."  
  
"Who will I be valeting?"  
  
"I'll let you know the night of the show."  
  
"Alright. Thank you so much!" she said with one last smile, before leaving his office and making her way to the women's locker room. She burst through the door and ran over to Amy.  
  
"Amy! I start valeting at the next show!" Tess squealed. Amy smiled widely.  
  
"That's awesome, Tess. You'll do great. Do you know who you are valeting yet?"   
  
"Not yet. I have to go to the seamstress and get my measurements taken, so I can have some outfits, and I'll find out who I'm valeting on the night of the show." Tess said in one breath. Her smile was huge.  
  
"Then go, chick! Tell her to make you something sexy." Amy replied with a wink and a grin. Tess returned the grin and walked out of the locker room and down the hallway towards the seamstresses' room.  
  
"Hey, Tess." she heard a voice from beside her. She looked up and saw Chris walking beside her.  
  
"Hi, Chris. What do you want?" she asked. Not even Chris could ruin her mood.  
  
"Look, stop being such a bitch to me, Tess. I never did a damn thing to you." Chris said, a hint of anger in his voice.  
  
"Except hit on me since the second I arrived here and then force yourself on me. That'd be called harassment, Chris." she spat.  
  
"Babe, every girl on this planet is throwing herself at my feet and you're shying away. It's your loss." he replied smugly.  
  
"You wish." she said, stepping up into his face.  
  
"Back down, dollface, or I might have to kiss those pretty little lips again." she glared at him and reached her hand back to slap him when he caught her wrist.  
  
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Didn't your daddy tell you to respect your elders?" Chris said in a low voice, squeezing her wrist tighter.  
  
"Let me go Chris, that hurts." she said, glaring daggers at him.  
  
"Apologize and I might." he replied, squeezing even harder. She yelped and tried to jerk her arm back.  
  
"No, you will now, or I'll rip your damn face off." Tess heard a voice behind her. She turned her head and saw Rob standing there, his arms crossed over his chest.  
  
"Aww, did little Tessy get herself a bodyguard? How cute. Just know that you can't always be there for her, Rob." Chris growled before throwing her arm back to her side roughly. She softly brought her wrist up to her chest and rubbed it with her other hand as Chris walked off.  
  
"Tess, are you alright?" Rob asked, putting a comforting arm around her waist. She nodded her head and continued to rub her wrist. "Here, let me have a look at that." he gently took her injured wrist into his hands and looked at it. A large, purple bruise was already forming around it.   
  
"Ouch," she said as he squeezed it a little too hard.  
  
  
  
"I'm sorry." Rob said as she winced slightly. "I swear, I'll kill that arrogant little bastard..." he trailed off, before turning and leading her the opposite way. "I'm gonna take you to the medic's station, you should probably get that bandaged so it doesn't swell."   
  
"Thank you, again. You always seem to be my knight in shining armor." she said, smiling slightly. He returned her smile.  
  
"That's what I'm here for."  
  
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	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: See chapters 1-3.  
  
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Chapter Four  
  
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Tess, Mark, Amy, Rob, and the rest of the roster were on a late flight to Memphis that night after the show. Tess made sure to get a seat as far away from Chris as she could. She was seated between Amy and Rob. The flight wasn't going to be a long one, only about two hours, so Tess figured she'd try to get a little catnap in before landing.   
  
"How's your wrist feeling?" Rob whispered to her a few minutes later, just as her eyelids were beginning to get heavy. She blinked her eyes open.  
  
"It's sore, and probably black and blue and swollen." she said as she unwrapped the ace bandage. She was right about it being basically black and blue, but it wasn't very swollen. Rob took her hand in his and ran his fingers gently over her bruises.  
  
"I can't believe Chris did that to you." Rob said in a low voice. "He used to be an okay guy. I mean, he did have a bad reputation for being with a different ring rat every night, but he never got rough." he glanced down slightly, his hand still delicately gripping hers.  
  
"I don't know why he's coming after me. Is he used to getting every woman he wants or something?" Tess whispered.  
  
"Pretty much so, yeah." Rob replied. Tess nodded.   
  
"I really am glad that you've been here to look after me, Rob. Even though we haven't known each other long at all, you're still there for me, and I'm grateful." Tess said.  
  
"It's no problem. I want to be here to help you out." Rob smiled slightly, still running his fingers over her wrist. They stayed this way as Tess drifted off to sleep.  
  
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Tess was woken up early the next morning for more training. They had arrived at the hotel late the night before, and Tess was still sleepy.   
  
"Daddy, can't I skip it today? I'm so sleepy..." she said with a yawn, tugging the pillow next to her over her head.  
  
"Tess, it's your second day of training, you can't skip it. So c'mon, get up." Mark said, nudging her. She grunted and got up, grabbing her workout clothes and stepping into the bathroom. She emerged about fifteen minutes later with her hair pulled into a ponytail.  
  
"Can we go shopping this weekend so I can get my own workout gear and boots and stuff?" Tess asked, throwing her pajamas into her suitcase. Mark nodded.  
  
"You're riding with Rob to the gym today. I have a photo shoot. Amy has a photo shoot today too, so it'll be just you and Rob." Mark said. Tess nodded and grabbed her gym bag.  
  
"I'll see you at the arena tonight." she said, kissing her father on the cheek. "By the way, I get to start valeting." she added.  
  
"Since when?" Mark asked.  
  
"I talked to Vince about it yesterday. That's okay, right?" she said.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine with it. But you're going to have to sign some contracts tonight."   
  
"That's okay."  
  
"Do you know who you're valeting?" he said.  
  
"Nope. Won't know until tonight." Mark nodded.  
  
"I better go, I bet Rob's waiting on me." Tess said.  
  
"See you at the arena tonight."  
  
"Bye, Daddy." Tess hooked her gym bag over her shoulder and walked out of the hotel door, grabbing her key card on the way out. She sprinted over to the elevator and pressed the down button rapidly. She hurried in right as the door opened, and smacked right into Chris.  
  
"Whoa there, be careful, Tess." said Chris, a smirk playing on his lips. She glared at him.  
  
"Get out of my way, Chris. I'm late." she pushed past him into the elevator and hit the 'lobby' button. The doors closed and the elevator began moving down, Chris glaring at her the whole time. After what seemed like an eternity, the elevator stopped and dinged, and the doors slid open. She moved past him again out into the lobby, Chris in tow. She saw Rob standing there.  
  
"Hey Tess." Rob said with a smile. "Chris." he said, when he noticed Chris behind her.  
  
"Later, Chris." Tess said, grinning, as she and Rob made their way out into the parking lot. They climbed into Rob's rental and took off towards the gym.  
  
"Was he bugging you again?" Rob asked. Tess shook her head.  
  
"Not really. I think he'll leave me alone, for a while anyways."   
  
"We can hope so, at least." Rob said with a smile. Tess returned the smile. They rode the rest of the way to the gym in silence. After about ten minutes they pulled into the back parking lot and entered the gym. They began working out with the weights first, for about half an hour, before they moved to the ring.  
  
"Tell me if your wrist starts hurting, okay?" Rob said to her. She nodded. They ran through the basics that she had learned yesterday, and he began teaching her a few new moves.   
  
"I want to learn something off of the ropes or the turnbuckles." Tess piped up. Rob looked over at her.  
  
"Are you sure you're ready for that? You've only been training a day..." Rob said.  
  
"I know, but you said it yourself, I'm a natural. And I think I want to do all the high-flying moves, anyways. It just seems more 'me' than being a technical wrestler or something like that." Tess replied. Rob nodded.  
  
"Alright...we'll try something, then. If you don't get it after a while though, then we'll probably need to train with some more basic moves before trying it again." Rob moved over to one of the turnbuckles. "What would you like to learn?"  
  
"A hurricanrana." Tess replied almost instantly.  
  
"Alright. First you need to climb up on the turnbuckle. I'm going to play your opponent. You jump onto your opponent's shoulders, squeeze your thighs tight, quickly drop your upper body, and spin around." Rob explained to her. "Now, try it slowly at first, move by move, then if you get it down like that, we can try it all fluidly."  
  
"Alright." Tess said. She climbed onto the turnbuckle and jumped onto his shoulders. She swayed, almost losing her balance. She squeezed her thighs and fell to the side, making them both fall to the mat.  
  
"Shit, I'm sorry." she said, getting up.  
  
"It's no problem, just try again." he said, setting himself back up. Tess climbed back up the turnbuckle and jumped onto his shoulders. She quickly squeezed her thighs together and dropped her upper body, then spun around. She unlatched herself from Rob's shoulders and sat up after landing.  
  
"Did I do it right?" she asked. Rob smiled and nodded.  
  
"You got it, girl. You've learned so much so fast. If you keep doing like you're doing now, Vince'll sign you by next month." Rob said, putting an arm around her shoulders. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. He slipped his arms around her waist and smiled at her.  
  
"What was that for?" he asked. She shrugged and smiled back.  
  
"Just felt like hugging you." she said as she broke the hug and slid out of the ring. "I'm going to go take a quick shower, I need to be all fresh for tonight." she grabbed her gym bag and made her way back to the showers. Rob smiled as he watched her walk off. He decided to work out just a little more while she got ready.  
  
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Tess turned the shower on hot as she pulled off her sweaty workout clothes. She took her hair down from its ponytail and stepped into the shower, tossing her head back into the spray. She reached over and poured a healthy amount of coconut-smelling shampoo into her palm before massaging it into her hair. For some reason, she couldn't get her mind off of Rob. She shook the feeling and finished her shower. She slipped into her outfit - light blue jean hip huggers and a jade green vintage t-shirt. She blowdryed her hair and twisted off some sections in the front, pinning them down with natural colored bobby pins. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her makeup, and put on a tiny bit. Just light foundation, lip gloss, and mascara. She looked into the mirror. Perfect. She slipped on her shoes and re-packed her gym bag before walking back out into the gym. She paused at the door leading from the showers into the gym. Rob was still working out. She just stood there, leaning against the door, watching him for a minute. She didn't know why, but as she watched him do pull-ups, her breath caught in her throat. She shook her head and walked into the gym.  
  
"Hey, I'm ready." she said with a smile. Rob dropped off of the pull-up bar and turned around to face her. He looked her over once and whistled with a grin.  
  
"Hey, beautiful." he said. Tess rolled her eyes. "Don't roll those eyes at me, girl, if I say you're beautiful, you're beautiful." he smiled as he towled the sweat off of him.   
  
"Alright, if you say so." she grinned. "C'mon, we need to get to the arena. I need to find out who I'm valeting tonight, and try on outfits and such."   
  
"Okay, let me go change." Rob said. He went to the showers and changed, coming back about five minutes later. Tess smiled at him as he came up to her. He took her hand in his as they walked out of the gym.   
  
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They arrived at the arena about a half an hour later. They entered through the back and went to drop their stuff off in their seperate locker rooms. Tess then made her way to catering, where she spotted Trish.  
  
"Hey, Trish!" she said happily, walking over to her. Trish smiled.  
  
"Hey." she replied. "What are you up to?" she asked. "We have some time before the show, if you wanna go shopping or something."   
  
"I wish I could, but I have fittings and have to find out my role from Vince."   
  
"That's alright. I can come with you to your fittings, if you want me to, and help you decide on an outfit for tonight."  
  
"That'd be great!" Tess said with a smile. They both then got up and walked to the seamstresses' room.   
  
"Hello, dear." the older woman said to Tess as she walked in. She smiled and waved. "I have three outfits ready for you to wear tonight." she said, pointing to the rack. Tess walked over to it and pulled the first one down. It was a red tube top that looked like it wouldn't cover much more than her breasts, and a black mini skirt. She took them into the changing room and slipped them on.  
  
"Whoa...how about we try something a little more...suttle on your first night?" Trish said as she walked back out. Tess looked at her with wide eyes and nodded in agreement. She pulled the next outfit down. It was a light purple halter top with a line of sequins forming a flower on the front, and the same black mini skirt as the first outfit. She liked this one; the shirt fit nicely and showed just a little stomach.  
  
"You look great in that one. Try on the third one before you make your decision, though." Trish said. Tess nodded and took the third outfit. It was beautiful. The shirt was made from satin, and was emerald green in color. It showed her stomach to just above her naval, and it was an off the shoulder shirt. The skirt was also black, but it was lighter than the other two, also being made of satin. At the very bottom of the skirt was a line of black lace. It was a beautiful outfit. She stepped out of the changing room and heard Trish gasp.  
  
"That's the one, chick. You look amazing. I can fix your hair for you, and you'll have your makeup done beautifully...wow." Trish said. Tess smiled widely.   
  
"I love this outfit." Trish nodded. Tess looked down at her bruised wrist. "I hope they can do something about this."  
  
"The makeup artist will cover it, don't worry." Trish looked down at her watch. "Whoa, it's getting late. You better go find out what your role is and get your makeup done."   
  
"Alright, I'll see you in a bit so you can do my hair."  
  
"See ya, chick." Tess smiled as she walked out of the room.  
  
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"Come in." Tess heard Vince's voice through the door. She stepped into his office.  
  
"That outfit looks great on you." he said with a smile. She returned the smile.  
  
"Thank you, Vince."   
  
"Anytime. Now, for your role. You will be valeting Rob Van Dam. The storyline starts out with you two as just friends, but after a while it gets more serious and you two develop feelings for each other. You two begin dating, and that's when Chris Jericho decides that he wants you instead. They will have a match at one of the Pay-Per-Views for the IC title and for you." Vince explained. Tess nodded her head and smiled.   
  
"Sounds great. I better go now, I have to get my makeup and hair done."  
  
"Alright. Tonight, you go out with Rob, but don't interfere with the match. He's predetermined to win." Tess nodded and walked out of his office to where the makeup artist was. She sat down and the makeup artist went to work, dolling her up with foundation, light blush, dark green eyeliner and a smudge of sheer white eyeshadow, and berry colored lip gloss. She looked in the mirror after she was done.  
  
"Oh my God! I look amazing!" she smiled at the makeup artist and thanked her before leaving. She walked to the women's locker room and Trish said the same thing when she saw her. She then went to fixing her hair. She did it simply, by twisting a section of it up and securing it with a black clip that had gold detailing.   
  
"Thank you Trish, this just pulls it all off." Tess said with a smile. Trish returned the smile.   
  
"No problem, chick. Now, you better get your shoes on and find Rob, his match is first." Tess nodded and slipped on the strappy black heels that went with the outfit, before walking out and heading towards the men's locker room. She knocked on the door.  
  
"Everyone decent?" she asked. She heard a chours of 'yes' from inside, so she pushed open the door and walked in. She instantly spied Rob and walked over to him.  
  
"I'm your valet." she said, smiling widely. He turned to face her. When he saw her his breath caught in his throat; she was absolutely gorgeous.  
  
"Wow." was all he could say. She laughed and grabbed his hand, tugging him out into the hallway with her.   
  
"Our characters end up dating and you end up having a title match with Chris over me." she told him. He nodded.  
  
"Vince told me that, just didn't say who my valet was. I really am glad it's you though." Rob said with a smile.  
  
"Aw, why's that?" she teased.  
  
"Because it's always good to have the most beautiful woman in the buisness on your arm, espically when she's as sweet as you." He said, smiling. She returned the smile and blushed slightly. She heard the door open behind her and turned around to face her father.  
  
"Hey, Daddy." she said with a smile, giving him a hug. He hugged her back and placed a kiss on her cheek.  
  
"You look beautiful." he said. "Who are you valeting?"  
  
"Rob."  
  
"Alright. You two better get down there, Rob, your match is about to start." Mark told them. They both nodded and Rob took her hand and led her down to the entrance. She exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding.  
  
"Nervous?" he asked. She nodded her head.  
  
"A little..." she trailed off. She was fidgeting a bit. Rob wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her close to him.  
  
"Take a few deep breaths. You'll be okay." he whispered in her ear. She did what he said and felt almost instantly relaxed...but she didn't know if it was the breathing or just being in his arms that did that. She sighed and her nervousness vanished.  
  
"Feel better?" he asked, pulling back just enough to look into her eyes. She smiled some and nodded. Her arms instantly went up around his neck as he leaned closer to her. His lips were just centimeters away from hers, she could feel his breath on her lips...and his music hit. They jerked apart and hurried out, big smiles on both of their faces as they made their way down the ramp. Her right arm was interlaced with his left, and he got her into the ring with him. She smiled and waved to the crowd before getting out of the ring. She stood on the floor yelling at the opponent at random times during the match, and slapped the mat as Rob got him down. The ref finally counted and Rob won. He slid out of the ring and scooped Tess up in his arms, both of them smiling as he walked back up the ramp.  
  
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	5. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: See the previous chapters...:)  
  
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Chapter Five  
  
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Tess got to sleep in late the next day. Saturday had finally rolled around, and her dad had a day off. She could technically say that she had a day off too, now that she was working for the company. When she finally got out of bed, it was nearly noon. She stretched and sleepily made her way into the bathroom, where she took a long, hot shower. She dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, no makeup, and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She slid on her shoes and made her way downstairs to the resturant.   
  
"Tess!" she heard a voice call out. She looked over at the table it came from and saw Amy waving her over. She smiled and walked over, taking a seat beside Amy.  
  
"You did great list night, chick!" Amy squealed, hugging her. Tess returned the hug.  
  
"Thanks! I had a blast! And Rob is a great guy to valet." Tess replied. Amy grinned slyly.  
  
"You like him" she said.  
  
"I do not!" Tess squeaked, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. Amy laughed.  
  
"You do! Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Amy said. Tess nodded.  
  
"You better not." Tess said in a low voice.  
  
"Don't worry, chick, I wouldn't do that to one of my best friends." Amy smiled. Tess returned the smile.  
  
"God...lets go shopping. You can take me to get my wrestling gear, and then we can hit the mall. We could use a day of girls-only relaxation."   
  
"I thought you'd never ask." Amy said and layed down money for her coffee. They got up and walked back into the lobby.  
  
"I'll be right back, gotta go get my purse and tell Daddy where I'm going." Tess said before walking over to the elevator. She hit the 'up' button and walked into the empty elevator. She hit the 'eight' button and rode up slowly.   
  
"Daddy," she called out as she walked into their hotel room. "Amy and I are going shopping. I'll be back later." she grabbed her purse.  
  
"Alright. I love you."  
  
"Love you too, Daddy." Tess walked back out the door. Amy was still waiting for her in the lobby.  
  
"Ready to go?" she asked Tess when she spotted her. Tess nodded and they made their way out to the parking lot. Their conversation mostly focused on Rob on the way into town.  
  
"I think he likes you, too. I mean, he's so caring when it comes to you." Amy said. Tess smiled shyly.  
  
"He's just being nice. He probably thinks I'm just some little kid. I know that there's a big age gap when it comes to me and Rob."  
  
"Tess, please. Rob doesn't care that you're younger than him, there's a real connection there! You just have to see where it goes." Amy said as she turned into the parking lot of a sporting goods store. "This place should have all the stuff. You need to decide on your colors so we can get boots and pads that'll match your outfits, once you get them made.  
  
"Jade and black." Tess replied almost instantly. Amy smiled.  
  
  
  
"You look great in those colors." They walked into the store. It was nearly empty, so they didn't wear any disguises.  
  
"Alright. You need workout clothes, knee and elbow pads, and boots." Amy muttered almost to herself as she looked around the tiny store. She spied the pads and the clothes. "Okay. You go over there and get three or four outfits, and I'll get your pads. Then we'll get your boots." Tess nodded and walked over to the racks of workout clotes. She got three pairs of spandex shorts - all black - and four sports bras, two green ones and two dark blue ones. She made her way back over to Amy, who had her knee and elbow pads.  
  
"Okay. Boots. I wear a size seven." Tess said. She and Amy looked through the different styles and designs, and Tess finally decided on a simple pair. Their main color was black and they had jade and emerald green accents on them. They brought all of the stuff to the counter. The cashier looked like he was about fifteen years old and gaped at Amy.  
  
"Li-i-ita!" he stuttered. Amy smiled at him. "Can I have an autograph?" he started at her with wide eyes.  
  
"Sure." Amy said, grabbing a piece of scrap paper off of the counter and the pen that was laying beside the cash register. She signed "Lita" in big, loopy letters, then handed it back to him. He rang up Tess's items.  
  
"You're total comes to $184.68." the boy squeaked out. Tess handed him her platinum card and he swiped it, then gave her the receipt to sign. She gathered her bag and she and Amy went back out to the car.   
  
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Tess and Amy returned to the hotel four hours later, their arms loaded down with bags. Amy had to go to the arena to go over some things with Vince, so Tess and Amy parted ways. Tess rode the elevator upstairs and dropped her bags.   
  
"Daddy?" she called out, looking around for him. He wasn't in there. She shrugged and walked over to the mini fridge, where she saw a note stuck to it. It was from her dad, saying that he had gone out and that he would be back later. Tess crumpled it up and threw it in the garbage can. After pulling a coke out and cracking it open, she sat down on her bed and picked up the phone, calling Rob's room.  
  
'Maybe he hung around here today, and I can go to his room and chill.' Tess thought to herself. It rang four times and she was about to hang up when she heard a "Hello?"  
  
"Hey, Rob." she replied.  
  
"Hey Tess! What are you up to?" he asked.   
  
"Not much, I was just calling to see if you were around and maybe wanted to hang out or something."  
  
  
  
"Sure. I'm in room 417 on the tenth floor, if you want to come up." he said.  
  
"Be up in a few." she said and hung up. She finished her coke and tossed the can in the garbage, grabbed her keycard, and walked out of the room.  
  
"Afternoon, Tessy." she rolled her eyes. Why was she always bumping into Chris?  
  
"What do you want?" she asked in a cold voice.  
  
"Nothing, sweetness. Just wanted to say 'hi' to my favorite girl." he smirked. She shot him a bird and got into the elevator, riding it two floors up. She went to room 417 and knocked on the door. Rob answered it a few seconds later. His hair was damp and pulled into a ponytail, and he was wearing only a pair of sports pants. Tess smiled and blushed slightly as he moved out of her way to let her in. Rob closed the door behind them and Rob walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and tugging her back towards him. She smiled and placed her hands over his, squeezing them slightly. After a moment they moved into the main part of the room and sat on one of the beds.  
  
"So, what have you been up to today?" Rob asked as he got two cokes out of the fridge for them. He handed her one and she cracked it open.  
  
"Amy and I went shopping. I got lots of new outfits, some I can wear to valet in, and I got my boots and stuff." she took a sip. Rob smiled.  
  
"What are your colors?"  
  
"Jade and black. I like those colors, I think they look good on me." Tess smiled.  
  
"I like them too. They suit you." Rob and Tess kept the conversation going for about an hour, talking about everything they could think of. Rob took one of her hands in his.  
  
"What happened to your mother?" Rob asked gently, brushing his fingers over her palm softly. She glanced down. "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to." he added.  
  
"It's okay, I'll tell you. She was sick for a long time. My mom was a great woman, a real inspiration. She was sweet and caring, and she did everything in her power to help people. When I was about eleven, she got diagnossed with cancer. She went through session after session of chemo, but nothing was seeming to work, so she let it run its course. It finally got her a few months ago." Tess voice was barely a whisper when she finished talking. She couldn't stop a single tear from rolling down her cheek. Rob reached up and brushed it away.  
  
"Hey now, don't cry," he said in a soft voice. "She's in a better place, she's not suffering anymore. And she's still watching down on you." He tilted her chin up slightly. She smiled.  
  
"Yeah, I'm thankful that she's no suffering anymore. But I still miss her terribly."  
  
"I don't blame you, I would miss my mother, too." Tess nodded and moved closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her into his lap, her back to his chest. She snuggled up close to him and closed her eyes. Rob glanced at the clock. It was nearly midnight. He reached over for the phone and dialed the number to Tess's room. Mark picked up after the second ring.  
  
"Hey, Mark. Tess is up here and she's asleep, so I'm just gonna let her have the other bed up here tonight."   
  
"Alright. And thanks for calling, I was beginning to get really worried." Mark said.  
  
"It's no problem. Night." Rob said before hanging up. He looked at Tess. She was looking back up at him, grinning slightly.  
  
"I am not asleep." she smirked.  
  
"Well, I thought you were. So you get to crash here tonight."  
  
"No complaints." she smiled. He tightened his grip around her waist and rested his forehead against hers. She leaned foreward and brushed her lips across his cheek, near his lips. He closed his eyes and smiled slightly, before pressing his lips to hers gently. She returned the kiss just as softly. They stayed like that for a moment before Rob pulled away, smiling at her. She returned the smile and let out an involuntary yawn.   
  
"I'm gonna turn in. Can I borrow something to sleep in?" she asked. Rob nodded and dug through his bag, pulling out a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. She went into the bathroom and changed, coming back out a minute later with her brown hair flowing around her shoulders.  
  
"You know, you look adorable in my boxers." Rob said. Tess grinned and headed for the second bed. "Nope, girl." he laughed and got out of his bed, scooping her up in his arms and dropping her on his bed. She laughed and crawled underneath the covers and he did the same, wrapping one arm around her waist. He pulled her close to him, her back to his chest, and she fell asleep, content in his arms.  
  
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	6. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: First three chapters. :)  
  
Authors Note: Thank you all who've reviewed so far! Heather, Ally, and Cat Lea Takersdarkone, I really appreciate that you've reviewed and enjoyed this story. I hope I keep entertaining you. :)  
  
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Chapter Six  
  
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The sun woke Tess up the next morning. She ran a hand over through her tangled hair and looked over at Rob, who was still peacefully sleeping beside her. She smiled to herself. 'He is really adorable when he sleeps.' She thought to herself as she wiggled her way out of his arms and got up, stretching. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was about nine thirty. She didn't want to wake Rob, not yet at least, so she walked to the mini kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. Just at it finished brewing, Rob sat up, running a sleepy hand over his face.  
  
"Morning," he said, flashing Tess a smile. She returned the smile and poured two cups of coffee. "Did you sleep well?" Rob asked, walking over to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and placed a kiss on her cheek.  
  
"Yep," she nodded. "Did you?" Rob smiled and nodded.  
  
"Of course I did, I had an angel sleeping next to me." he said. Tess rolled her eyes but smiled.  
  
  
  
"Are you off today?" she asked him.  
  
"Yep." Rob replied. "Do you want to do something?"  
  
"Sure. I just need to get showered and stuff first." Tess took a sip of her coffee.   
  
"Alright. I don't think there's really that much to do here, though."   
  
"I'm sure we can find something to do. I'm gonna go down to my room and take a shower now, I'll come back up after I'm done." Tess said, finishing her coffee. She put the cup in the sink and turned to walk out the door, but Rob didn't let go of her waist. She turned to face him and he grinned before kissing her. She grinned against his lips before kissing him back. They broke the kiss after a second and Rob let Tess out of his arms. She smiled and got her keycard, then walked out of the room. She took the elevator back down to the room that she and her father shared. He was sitting on his bed reading the newspaper when she walked in. He gave her a once-over and looked at her with wide eyes. She looked down - and noticed that she was still wearing Rob's shirt and boxers.  
  
"No! No, no, Daddy, Rob and I didn't do anything!" she stammered, shaking her head. Mark looked at her face and chuckled at her.  
  
"I know you didn't. I just wanted to freak you out." he laughed. Tess glared at him.  
  
"Ha, ha, Daddy." she said, still glaring. After a moment, though, she couldn't help but grin. "Rob and I are going out in a little bit, I need to take a shower and stuff." Tess rummaged through her suitcase and pulled out a pair of jeans and a red t-shirt. She went into the bathroom and took a quick shower. She blowdryed her hair and put on a tiny bit of makeup, then walked back into the main room. Her dad was gone, but had left a note, telling her to be in by eleven. She ran her fingers through her hair, folded Rob's clothes, grabbed her purse and keycard, and went back up to Rob's room.   
  
"Hey, beautiful." he said to her with a smile as he answered his door. She smiled and walked inside, handing him back his clothes.  
  
"Lets just go cruising around. If we see something interesting, we can go there." Tess said, grabbing a coke out of his mini fridge and cracking it open. She took a sip and looked at him.  
  
"Sounds like a plan." Rob replied. Tess grinned and took another sip of her coke. She gave Rob a once-over; he looked cute. She smiled to herself as she finished off her coke.  
  
  
  
"Like what you see?" he asked with a grin. She realized she must have been staring and blushed.  
  
"Of course."   
  
"Yeah, you better." he teased. Tess rolled her eyes and grabbed her purse, walking out of the door.   
  
"Let's roll." Rob wrapped an arm around her waist as they walked over to the elevator.  
  
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Tess cranked up the radio in Rob's rental car as they sped down the road. Looking around at the various buildings they passed, she realized that there really was nothing to do around here. It was a small town, and all Tess saw were a few convience stores, a few churches, and a small movie theater.  
  
"Look, you wanna go there?" Rob asked. He pointed to a fairly large one story building. It had a sign on the outside that read "Karaoke Bar". Tess grinned.  
  
"Sure." she replied. The place was pretty crowded for so early in the day. 'Must be because there's nothing else to do,' Tess thought to herself. She grabbed her purse and got out of the car, Rob following her. The inside of the bar was dimly lit and packed full of locals. Tess and Rob found a small table in the back corner and ordered drinks as they watched people sing.   
  
"I dare you to go sing." Rob grinned. Tess returned the grin.  
  
"Challenge accepted." she got up and walked over to the man who was running the music. She bent over and whispered something in his ear, and he nodded. She got up on the stage and took the microphone in her hand, waiting for her music to start. After a minute or so, "Dirrty" by Christina Aguilera blasted through the speakers. Tess started to sing and people got into it, some even getting up and dancing. She looked out at Rob and he was sitting at their table, shaking his head and grinning. After the song ended Tess returned to their table and plopped down, grinning.  
  
"You sing really well." Rob told her. She smiled. She knew that Rob was probably just trying to be nice; her singing voice was okay, but not great. All that mattered to her though was that she was having fun.  
  
"Thanks. God, it's crowded in here, lets blow this popsicle joint and go get something to eat." Tess said. She grabbed his hand and threw a couple of bills down on the table for their drinks.   
  
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They found a small Mexican resturant to eat at.   
  
"Do I look twenty-one?" Tess asked Rob as they were seated at their table. He nodded.  
  
"Yeah, why?" he asked.  
  
"I'll take a strawberry daquiri." she told the waiter as he came to get their drinks. Rob quirked an eyebrow at her and ordered a coke.  
  
"I didn't know you drank." he said. She shrugged.  
  
"I don't drink much, and I don't drink heavily. But I will have a daquiri every once in a while. They're yummy." she smiled. Rob grinned and rolled his eyes.   
  
"Now, what would your dad say about this, Tess?" he asked jokingly.  
  
"Aw, he wouldn't mind. I hope." she replied. The waiter brought their drinks back out and got their food order. Tess sipped her drink.  
  
"Do you have a match tomorrow night?" she asked Rob as he took a drink of his coke.  
  
"Yep, me against Randy Orton." he replied. Tess nodded.  
  
"Is it predetermined?"  
  
"Nope." Rob said.  
  
"I got some new valeting outfits when me and Amy went shopping yesterday. I know what I'm going to wear tomorrow, it's perfect." Tess said.  
  
"What's it look like?" Rob asked.  
  
"Nope, you don't get to find out until tomorrow." she replied in a singsong voice. He play-pouted.  
  
"Aww, come on Tess, tell me." he looked at her with puppy dog eyes.  
  
"Nope. Doesn't work on me." Tess grinned. Rob smiled and gave up. Their food arrived and they made small talk over dinner. After they both finished, Rob paid and they went back to the hotel. It was getting late, around nine by then, so Tess decided to go back to her room to turn in early.  
  
"Night, Rob." Tess smiled in the lobby of the hotel. He returned the smile and wrapped his arms around her waist. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips lightly.  
  
"Night, Tess. Meet me down here at eight tomorrow, we can go train." she nodded and took the elevator up to her room.  
  
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Tess slipped on her new valeting outfit the next night in the woman's locker room. It was a pink halter top that came above her naval, a short, black pleated skirt, and black stiletto heals. She left her hair down and wavy, and got her makeup done in pink and grey tones. She left the woman's locker room and began making her way to the men's locker room to get Rob, when she bumped into someone.  
  
"I'm sorry...oh, wait. It's just you." she said, looking up at Chris. He smirked and brushed past her. She rolled her eyes and knocked on the door to the men's locker room.  
  
"Everyone decent?" she asked. Someone called out 'yes' from inside, so she opened the door and slipped in.   
  
"Wow, isn't someone looking hot tonight?" Jeff Hardy whistled as she walked in. She grinned and laughed at him.  
  
"You're not looking half bad yourself, Hardy." she had become pretty good friends with Jeff the past week.  
  
"Hey, the other Hardy got some good genes, too." Matt said jokingly as he gave her a hug from behind. She grinned and turned around.  
  
"Yep, you're right, Matt." she laughed. She spotted her father in the corner of the room and walked over to him, giving him a hug.  
  
"Hey, Daddy." she said, smiling.  
  
"Hey baby girl." he replied. "Don't you think that outfit is a little too revealing?" he asked, eyeing her. She shook her head.  
  
"Daddy, you know as well as I do that this is just how valets dress." she said. He nodded.  
  
"I guess I have to give you that. You also seem to be getting popular with the guys around here." Mark grinned. Tess rolled her eyes.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Are you gonna try to give me the sex talk now?" she laughed.  
  
"Do you need it?" he looked a little worried.  
  
"Joke, Daddy, it was a joke. Mom gave me the sex talk when I was like...thirteen."  
  
"I don't want you having sex now anyways, you're too young." Mark said sternly.  
  
"Daddy, I'm a legal adult." Tess replied.  
  
"I know, but you're still living under my care and I don't want you having sex. It's too risky. If you had sex, and espically if you got pregnant, I would probably get fired."   
  
"Why on earth would you get fired?" Tess asked, quirking a brow.  
  
"Because Vince would get mad that I murdered one of his wrestlers." Mark said in a low voice. Tess rolled her eyes.  
  
"Alright Daddy, whatever you say." Tess waved her hand and walked over to Rob, who had just walked into the room.   
  
"Hey, Rob." she smiled, giving him a hug. He wrapped his arms around her waist and returned it.  
  
"I'm loving that outfit, by the way." he grinned.  
  
  
  
"Thanks." she smiled. They sat around and talked for a few minutes, until a stagehand came in.  
  
"Rob, Tess, you're on in five." he said before walking back out of the room.   
  
"Alright, lets go." Rob said, taking her hand and leading her out of the locker room. They walked past catering, where Chris was, on their way to the ramp.  
  
"Hey Rob, Tess. My, Tess, you're looking strikingly slutty today!" Chris said in a smartass tone. Rob glared at him and Tess shot him a bird as they walked over to the entrance. A few seconds later, Rob's music started. He hooked his and Tess's arms together and they walked out. Rob's fans where screaming louder than Tess had ever heard them scream before, and he unhooked their arms to do his 'Rob Van Dam' chant. Tess smiled and walked on with Rob. As they got to the ring, Rob climbed in through the ropes and Tess got on the apron by climbing the stairs. Rob's music stopped and Randy's started. His fans cheered and he slid into the ring. The match started.  
  
"This is going to be a great match tonight, folks." Jim Ross said. Jerry agreed with him before Tess drowned them out, paying attention to the match. She yelled at Randy, trying to mess him up, and he glared at her before nailing Rob with a low blow. Randy started over to the ropes like he was going to knock Tess off of the apron and she feigned fear, before Rob dropkicked him from behind. The match went on for about another eight minutes before Randy nailed Rob hard, leaving him spread out on the mat. Tess figured that he would go for the pin, but instead, he slid out of the ring and began searching for something underneath it. Tess was yelling at Rob to get up. Randy finally stood back up, a metal folding chair in his hands. He nailed the ref with it, then went after Rob. Tess got in through the ropes as Rob was groggily getting up. Randy had his chair in one hand and was gesturing to the crowd with the other. Tess hurried over to Rob.  
  
"He's got a chair!" she whispered loudly. Rob shook his head some, then looked at her. She turned around.  
  
"Holy hell, JR! He's going after Tess!" she heard Jerry say. She tried to get out of the way, but didn't do it fast enough. Randy nailed her in the head with the chair, and all she could remember after that was falling and blackness.  
  
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	7. Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: Chapters 1-3.  
  
Author's Note: I'm sorry for the long delay, guys! I've just been so busy with Christmas and all - plus, I got out the first chapter of a new story that I'm writing. Anyways, enjoy!  
  
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Chapter Seven  
  
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"Damnit, Randy, why the hell did you hit her?" Tess heard her father growl as she woke up from what felt like a groggy sleep. Her head was pounding.  
  
"Mark, she's awake." Rob said. He was sitting beside her, holding her hand. She blinked a few times so her eyes would focus, and realized that she was at the medic's station.   
  
"I figured she would move before I got to her, I was swinging for Rob." Randy said. He looked worried. "I am so sorry, Tess. I honestly didn't mean to hit you." he said, sounding sincere.  
  
"It's alright. I better get used to it if I want to be a wrestler." she laughed, then winced. Ouch. She didn't know it would hurt to laugh.  
  
"You needed some stitches," Rob said. "And the doctor gave you some ibuprofin, it should be kicking in soon." Tess reached up to the tender spot on her hairline and flinched.  
  
"Come on, Tess, lets go back to the hotel room. You need some rest." Mark said, helping her up. Rob came to the other side of her and wrapped his arm around her waist, supporting her as she walked towards the door. She grinned and stopped.  
  
"Daddy, Rob. I hurt my head, not my legs. I'm okay, really. I can walk on my own." Tess laughed. Mark grinned and let her go, Rob doing the same.   
  
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They arrived at the hotel about half an hour later. Tess was extremely groggy and decided to turn in early, while Mark and Rob went to grab a bite to eat at the hotel's resturant. After being seated, they sat in an uneasy silence for a moment.  
  
"What do you think about Tess?" Mark asked Rob. Rob looked up at him and quirked a brow.  
  
"What on earth do you mean?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice.  
  
"I mean what do you think about Tess? Where do you stand with her? You two are together an awful lot..." Mark trailed off.  
  
"Well...I like her, of course. She's a sweet girl, and a blast to hang out with. I have a great time with her." Rob replied.  
  
"That's fine. But don't be getting to buddy-buddy with her...she's too young for you, Rob." Mark warned.  
  
"Mark, she's eighteen years old and if she chooses to date me then that's her decision. I'm not saying that we are or that we aren't. But there is a spark there, I will tell you that." Rob replied calmly.  
  
"Weather she's a legal adult or not, she is still living under my care, and I will decide what is best for her, and that's not you." Mark growled. Rob glared at him before getting up from the table and retreating to his room.  
  
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Tess woke to a throbbing pain in her head the next morning. She opened her weary eyes and looked around. Her father was sitting at the small kitchenette table, reading the paper and drinking coffee. She sat up slowly.  
  
"Morning, Tess." Mark said, not averting his eyes from his paper.  
  
"Morning, Daddy. Damn, my head hurts." she muttered.  
  
"It will for a bit. The medic at the arena said to just take asprin if your head hurt." Tess nodded and got a glass of water. She swallowed two tylenols before grabbing her clothes and going into the bathroom. She took a long, hot shower and dressed in her workout clothes underneath a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She dried her hair and put it in a ponytail, and emerged from the bathroom. She grabbed her gym bag and purse and kissed her dad on the cheek.  
  
"Bye Daddy, I'm going down to the gym to train some with Rob and Ames." she said, grabbing her key card.  
  
"Be careful around Rob." her father said. She shot him a confused look, but shrugged it off and walked out the door. Glancing at her watch, she noticed that it was still pretty early, so she decided to go have a cup of coffee from the resturant before getting Rob and Amy. It was relatively empty when she walked in, much to her relief. She took a seat and ordered a coffee with cream and sugar. Her mind kept drifting back to what her father had said.   
  
'What was he talking about?' she asked herself. 'Rob would never do anything to hurt me, I know he wouldn't. He's just too sweet.' she got snapped out of her thoughts by someone sitting down in front of her. She smiled.  
  
"Hey, Ames." she said. Amy smiled.  
  
"Hey, chick. How's the noggin?" she asked.  
  
"I'll live. Did Rob tell you I pulled the hurricanrana off the other day?" Tess replied.  
  
"No way! You rock, chick! Vince will hire you in no time." Amy smiled. Tess returned the smile and took a sip of her coffee.  
  
"Do you know if Rob's up?"  
  
"Aww, waiting on your man? No, I dunno if he's up. I thought you were training with me today?" Amy asked.  
  
"I am. Rob just wanted to come along too. He can be our guinea pig." Tess grinned.  
  
"Sounds like a plan to me. C'mon, lets go. If he's not waiting out in the lobby, we can go and wake his lazy ass up." Amy laughed. Tess threw down a couple of bills and grabbed her bags, following Amy out to the lobby. Rob was sitting out there, and, much to Tess's discomfort, so was Jericho.  
  
"Hey, Rob." she smiled. Rob returned the smile and hugged her.  
  
"Feeling better?" he asked her. She nodded. Chris walked over and grinned at the two of them.  
  
  
  
"Aw, Tess, no hug for your favorite man?" he snickered. Tess glared at him.  
  
"Come near me, Jericho, and you will need testicle retrieval surgery." she hissed. A look of panic washed over Chirs's face.  
  
"Chat at you later." he muttered with a wave of his hand, before walking to the elevator. Amy was turning pink with silent laughter, and Rob was grinning.  
  
"That's telling him!" Amy laughed.  
  
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Tess, Amy, and Rob trained at the gym for nearly four hours that day. After her training, Tess felt wonderful. The pain in her head was gone, and her body felt good.   
  
"No show tonight, I say we go dancing." Amy suggested. Tess smiled and agreed, but Rob looked a bit reluctant.  
  
"Aw, come on, Rob. Please? For me?" Tess asked, looking at him with big puppy eyes. He finally caved.  
  
"And I'll ask Matt to come with me." Amy said. Tess nodded.  
  
"Alright, you go ask him, then come get me in my room. If we're going to go dancing, we need a new outfit." she grinned. Rob rolled his eyes.  
  
"Women...always thinking of one reason or another to go shopping..." Amy and Tess laughed, and the three of them split to go to their respective rooms.   
  
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"Tess, you're going to look great in that outfit." Amy said with a smile, as she and Tess walked back through the hotel's main entrance. Their arms were loaded down with shopping bags.  
  
  
  
"You won't look half bad in the one you bought either, Ames." Tess replied, returning the smile. "C'mon up to my room. Dad's at the gym, he's training some with Glenn, so we have it to ourselves to get ready." They took the elevator up and walked to Tess's room.  
  
"I'll grab a shower first, okay? I take quick showers." Amy said. Tess nodded as Amy took one of her bags into the bathroom with her. Tess heard the water start a minute later. She sat down on the bed and flipped through some channels on the television until Amy came out about ten minutes later. She was wearing a short black dress, the skirt part of it pleated. The black dress had some hot pink accents on it, and it looked great on Amy. A pair of fishnet tights and black combat boots finished the outfit.  
  
"You look great, girl. Matt's gonna freak when he sees you." Tess smiled, gesturing to Amy's new boyfriend. Amy grinned and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Thanks. You go take your shower, I'll dry my hair while you're in there and you can fix it afterwards." Amy said. Tess smiled and grabbed her new outfit. She took a quick shower, tossing her hair up in a towel after she got out. She slipped on her new outfit and went back out into the main room. Amy's mouth dropped open when she saw her. Tess was wearing a carmel-colored scoop neck top that was backless, minus a few strings to tie it closed. A light brown leather skirt showed off her long legs, and a new pair of brown boots adorned her feet.   
  
'I love these boots,' Tess thought to herself as she looked in the full-legenth mirror. They were natural brown leather, that were nearly flat. Tess had opted not to go for high-heels this time, and thought these boots were perfect. Snapping out of her daze, she walked over to Amy and began on her hair. She twisted some strands of Amy's long red hair and pinned them back with black butterfly clips. She let the rest of her hair hang down straight. She then began to work on her makeup. She applied light foundation and blush, swiped a thin layer of pink eyeliner on her eyes, coated her lashes in black mascara, and lined her lips with rosy-colored lip liner. As a last touch, she put reddish-pink colored gloss on her lips.  
  
"You look amazing, Ames." Tess smiled.  
  
"You will too, once I'm done with you." Amy smiled. She took the towel out of Tess's hair and brushed it out. After applying a healthy portion of some type of gel to Tess's hair, she noticed that Amy was fixing it curly. She dried it and left it all down. Tess was amazed at how great her hair looked; she never wore it curly before, but she decided that her dark brown hair looked best that way. Amy did her makeup very light and natural. She applied the same pink lip gloss on Tess's lips that Tess had used on her.   
  
"Thank you so much, Ames. I love this look." Tess smiled. Amy returned the smile.  
  
"Anytime, chick. I love mine, too."  
  
"Alright. Lets go party!" Tess grinned and grabbed her purse. She and Amy walked out of Tess's hotel room and took the elevator up a few more floors to Rob's. Tess knocked on his door. His jaw dropped to the floor when he opened it and saw her.  
  
"Damn..." was all he said. Tess and Amy laughed.  
  
"So, do I look alright?" Tess asked, a hint of teasing in her voice. Rob nodded.  
  
"More than alright...you are so hot in that outfit!" he said, laughing. Tess smiled and motioned for him to follow them.   
  
"We're taking my car." Amy said. Rob nodded. They went out to the parking lot and got into Amy's car. They arrived at the club about fifteen minutes later.   
  
"Jay, Adam, Paul, Shane, Matt, Jeff, and John are all supposed to be here tonight, too." Amy said. Tess and Rob nodded. They walked into the club. It was full of people, and music blasted all around them. They found a table in the back and sat down, ordering some drinks.   
  
"C'mon chick, lets go dance!" Amy laughed, dragging Tess out onto the dance floor with her. They danced and laughed, having a great time for about fifteen minutes. Tess smiled as she watched Amy dance, and as someone approached her from behind. It was Matt, and he made a motion for her to not say anything. She grinned and nodded. He snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, placing a few soft kisses on her neck. She giggled and turned around, talking to him for a minute until a slow song came on. Matt pulled Amy closer to him and they began to sway with the music. Tess smiled and walked back over to the table, pulling Rob up.  
  
"Dance with me," Tess said, looking up at him. He smiled and nodded as she led him out onto the floor. He wrapped his arms comfortably around her waist, and she draped her arms around his neck. He pulled her close to him as another slow song, 'Your Body Is A Wonderland' by John Mayer came on. Tess rested her head on Rob's shoulder, and he ran his hands softly over her back as they moved along with the music. Tess closed her eyes and inhaled Rob's scent. His cologne was clean and fresh smelling. All too soon, the song was over. Tess looked up at Rob and he smiled before leaning down, kissing her gently. She smiled slightly before returning the kiss. Rob broke it after a moment and led her back over to the table. She sat close to him in the booth, snuggled up close to him the rest of the night.  
  
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	8. Chapter Eight

Disclaimer: Chapters 1-3.  
  
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Chapter Eight  
  
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Tess paced the women's locker room. It was about midday, and Vince had requested a meeting with her around one. Tess was nervous. She had no idea what it was about.   
  
'What if he's going to make me stop valeting? Am I not doing a good job?' she asked herself as she walked from one side of the room to the other. She snapped out of her daze as she heard the door open.  
  
"Hey chick, what's up?" Amy asked from behind her. Tess turned around to face her friend.  
  
"Not much. I have a meeting with Vince in an hour, and I'm nervous. I have no idea what it's about." Tess told her before plopping down on one of the benches.   
  
"Don't worry about it, Vince really is a nice guy. Besides, I'm sure it's nothing." Amy said, before taking her gym bag and walking back to the showers. Tess sat there and listened to Amy sing in a high pitched, off-key tune as she showered, and couldn't help but laugh at her best friend. Deciding that she may as well get her shower in before her meeting with Vince. She grabbed a pair of hip huggers and a light green button-down shirt, a towel, and walked to the showers. Amy was just getting out and flashed Tess a smile before proceeding to towel off and change. Tess was off in her own world again, though, and didn't notice. She started the shower and was in there for a good fifteen minutes before she began to wash her hair. She used a fair amount of her coconut shampoo, still not really paying attention to anything but her thoughts.   
  
"Tess, you better hurry up or you'll be late for your meeting!" she heard Amy yell from the main part of the locker room. Tess snapped out of it and finished her shower quickly. She changed, applied a small bit of makeup, and dried her hair curly before walking barefoot back to the locker room. She sat down on the bench and slipped on her new boots, then stood up.  
  
"How do I look?" she asked Amy.  
  
"You look fine. Stop worrying Tess, you'll make yourself sick." Amy said. Tess nodded.   
  
"I gotta go now, I'll come and tell you what it was about before the show tonight." Tess replied, refering to the house show they were putting on tonight in Phoenix.  
  
"Alright. Good luck, chick!" Amy said to Tess's retreating back. She was out the door and headed to Vince's office. She smiled at Glenn as she passed him, and walked on to Vince's office. She breathed out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding as she approached the large oak doors. She reached up and tapped softly on one.  
  
"Come in." said a voice from inside. Tess pushed the door open and walked timidly in.  
  
"You...you wanted to see me?" she stammered. Vince nodded.  
  
"Have a seat." he said, flipping through a large stack of papers on his desk.  
  
'Oh no,' Tess thought to herself. 'He IS going to stop me from valeting, or I'm in trouble for something...' All her worry came flooding back to her.  
  
"I wanted to talk to you about a provisional contract." Vince said, finally pulling out a few papers. Tess looked at him and quirked an eyebrow.  
  
"Pardon?" she asked.  
  
"I want to sign you for a month, and see how you do at some house shows. If you didn't know, Amy and Rob taped you working out a few times, and I reviewed the tapes to see how your progress was coming along. You have amazing natural talent, just like your father. If you decide to sign this provisional contract, which I hope you will, you will have your first match tonight." Vince said, flashing a small smile at her. Tess breathed a sigh of relief before smiling widely.  
  
"I would love to, Vince. Thank you so much for offering!" Tess said, her smile growing bigger.  
  
"Wonderful. Just sign here, and initial there." Vince replied, pointing to two lines. Tess signed and initialed like he told her to, and stood up.  
  
"Your match tonight is against Trish. It's not predetermined, so it could go either way. Just wrestle the best way you know how, and we'll see how it works out." Vince said, before motioning that she could leave. She nodded and walked back to the women's locker room.  
  
"AMY!!!" she yelled as she walked back in. Amy poked her head up from her locker, where she was rummaging through a bag.  
  
"What?! What happened?!" Amy said, quickly walking over to her. She looked concerned.  
  
"I got signed! Vince signed me! It's just a provisional contract, but still! I have a match tonight against Trish!" Tess squealed, jumping up and down. Amy laughed and smiled, hugging her friend.  
  
"See! I knew you could do it, chick! I'm so proud of you!" Amy said. "But we need to go down to the seamstresses' room like now, to see if she has any wrestling outfits laying around in your size. You can just wear something simple tonight, and we can get her to measure you and begin working on your actual costumes." she grabbed Tess's hand and drug her along towards the room. The seamstress was the same that had made Tess's first valeting outfit, a nice, older woman. She smiled as Tess and Amy barged in, and went right to finding Tess an outfit. She finally came up with a nice, plain black one that used to belong to Trish. The seamstress decided that it would work, as soon as she did some hemming on it. Trish and Tess were about the same size, all except for the bust area. The seamstress took Tess's measurments again and sent them along their way, telling them to come back in an hour for the costume.   
  
"I was thinking we could do your eye makeup dark and smokey," Amy was telling her as they walked down a hallway towards catering. Tess was only half-listning, though. "You'll look great." she finished. Tess smiled and nodded.  
  
"Hello? Earth to Tess? Are you listning to me?" Amy asked, playfully tapping on Tess's forehead. She blinked and looked up.  
  
"Yep, I'm here. I'm okay." she laughed. Amy rolled her eyes and grabbed her by the arm, leading her over to a table where Adam, Matt, Jeff, and Jay were sitting. Amy took a seat beside Matt, and Tess took one beside Jeff.  
  
"Hey guys, whacha up to?" Tess asked with a smile.  
  
"Not too much, how about yourself?" Jeff said before taking another bite of his sandwich.  
  
"I have a little suprise."  
  
"Spill," Jay said, eyeing her with curiosity.  
  
"I got signed!" Tess squealed, grinning from ear to ear.  
  
"Way to go Tess!" Jeff said, throwing his arms around the small girl. She hugged him back, then went around and hugged everyone else at the table. "I knew you could do it." Tess smiled and glanced down at her watch. She needed to be back with the seamstress in about fifteen minutes.  
  
"Alright, I'm gonna go ahead and go down to see the seamstress. See you guys later!" Tess said, before getting up and walking out of catering. She began to make her way to the seamstresses' room, smiling slightly to herself.  
  
"Hey, dollface." she heard behind her. She turned around with a roll of her eyes.  
  
"Chris, what the hell do you want?" Tess asked in an annoyed tone.  
  
  
  
"Aww, sweetheart, I was just coming to say congratulations! I heard you got yourself a contract. What did you do, fuck Vince?" Jericho asked, grinning. Tess narrowed her eyes and stepped up in his face. Her tone softened some as she spoke.  
  
"Chris, I really don't know why you insist on making my life a living hell. No, I didn't sleep with Vince. I practiced. I got here the same way you did. Yes, I'm sure that my father being the Undertaker helped. I'm admitting that. But I did work to get here. Please tell me why you keep doing this to me." She took a seat on the floor, resting her back against the wall as she looked up at him. He sighed and ran a hand over his face, before taking a seat opposite her.  
  
"Because...hell, I don't know. I'm used to getting what I want, y'know?" Chris said, his tone also softening. Tess looked suprised for a moment; she didn't actually think he would be civil about it. "And when you first got here...I wanted you. I thought you were beautiful, and from what I've heard from some of the other people around here, you have the best personality. I guess...it was just a huge blow to my ego when you and Rob became a thing." he finished. It seemed to Tess that what he had just told her took a hell of a lot of guts, and she respected that.  
  
"Look...Chris, I really would like to be friends with you. Me being with Rob doesn't make me off-limits as a friend. And you never know what's going to happen. Me and Rob could stop being together tomorrow for all I know. Just give things time. But...now...let's just start over, okay? Forget all that's been said and done." Tess offered him. He looked down at the floor for a moment, before nodding his head and looking up at her.  
  
"Alright." he said. She smiled softly at him before standing up. She offered a hand down to him, which he accepted. She pulled him up off of the floor.  
  
"Hi. I'm Tess Calloway." she said. He smiled.  
  
"Chris Irvine." Chris replied. She smiled and threw her arms around his neck in a friendly hug.  
  
"Alright...well, I need to go get my last fitting done now. I'll see you before the show starts, okay? Then we can talk and get to know each other a bit better." Chris nodded and waved his goodbye, before walking off down the opposite end of the hall. Tess finished the short walk to the seamstresses' room. She knocked on the door and walked in.  
  
"I've just finished your outfit, dear. Go try it on." the seamstress told tess, handing her the black costume. She smiled and took it, walking into the small back room. She closed the door and changed into the outfit; it was all black, and was a one piece body suit. The top was made like a halter top, the bottom, stretchy flare-legged pants. It fit perfectly, now. She walked back out.  
  
"Thanks so much, I appreciate it. I gotta go get ready for my match now, though." she smiled. The seamstress nodded and Tess left, walking back to the women's locker room. It was empty when she arrived, so she rolled up her pants and put her knee pads on, followed by her boots, then rolled the pants back down. Before putting on her elbow pads, she fixed her hair curly, like Amy had, and did her makeup. She was putting on her elbow pads when Trish and Amy entered the room.  
  
"Look at you, girl!" Amy said, giving her friend a hug. Tess laughed and hugged her back.  
  
"I am so excited. Don't go easy on me, Trish." Tess replied. Trish rolled her eyes playfully.  
  
"Like I would. I'm giving it my all, girly, you better to." she laughed, also hugging her friend. Tess smiled.  
  
"Our match is first tonight. We better get down to the ramp, show's about to start." Trish said. Tess nodded and Amy smiled.  
  
"I gotta stay in here and get ready, I'm sorry, chick. I'm gonna watch it on the moniter, though!" Amy said.   
  
"See you later, Ames." Tess said, before following Trish to the ramp. Trish's music hit just as Tess arrived. A minute or so later, her music, which she and her father had selected together, hit.  
  
"Look at that, JR! A new Diva wrestling tonight!" Tess heard Jerry 'The King' Lawler say, before she came out onto the ramp. "Hell, it's Tess! She's wrestling!" Tess smiled and threw her hands up to the crowd, who were yelling at the valet-turned-Diva. She climed into the ring and onto one of the turnbuckles, throwing her hands up again. She climed down as the bell rang. She and Trish mostly just pushed and shoved and grabbed hair for the first few minutes of the match. Then, Trish hit her with a dropkick. She groggily got up threw Trish into the ropes, letting her bounce back as Tess clotheslined her. She tried to go for the pin, but only got a two-count. Trish recovered and threw her into the turnbuckle, pounding on her. Tess pushed Trish off of her and climbed onto the turnbuckle, trying to nail a hurricanrana while Trish's back was still turned. Just as she jumped off of the turnbuckle, Trish turned around and dodged it. Tess hit the mat hard and rolled over onto her stomach, her arms curled up underneath her. Trish shoved her onto her back and layed her body over Tess', getting the three-count. Tess groaned as she got out of the ring and walked back up the ramp, as Trish smiled and waved to her fans. She got back to the women's locker room, where Amy was waiting for her.  
  
"You did great, girl! And don't worry about the loss, Trish has been doing it much longer. It was a great first match." Amy said. Tess smiled.  
  
"I know, and I think Trish deserved to win, honestly. I need to get a little bit more experience under my belt before I beat you or her." Tess replied. Amy nodded and they talked for a few minutes, before Amy had to leave for her match. Tess changed back into her street clothes and decided to find Rob, since he didn't have a match that night. She grabbed her bag and walked out, only to be met by Rob in the hallway. She smiled and went to hug him, before noticing that he had his arms crossed across his chest. He looked angry.  
  
"I saw you with Jericho earlier." he said to her in an accusing tone.   
  
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	9. Chapter Nine

Disclaimer: Chapters 1-3  
  
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Chapter Nine  
  
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"Okay," Tess said, quirking a brow at him. "What about it?"  
  
"What the hell were you doing with him? I thought you two hated each other." Rob growled, leaning back against the wall. "And I come looking for you to congradulate you for getting signed, and I see you hugging him."  
  
"Do you realize how stupid you sound right now?" Tess asked, rolling her eyes. "I hugged him. Big deal. No, I don't hate him. We had a nice long talk about some things, things that should really stay between me and him. You never get mad when I hug Matt or Jeff or Shane. Why did you get mad that I hugged Chris?" her voice was beginning to rise.  
  
"Because all he wants to do is get in your fucking pants, Tess!" Rob yelled. Her eyes widened at his tone. "I'm sure he apologized and shit, am I right? Hell yes. He does this to the rats all the time. He's trying to seduce you."  
  
"The hell? Rob, you've gone crazy. Calm down. You are being WAY too protective of me right now. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself. And as for right now, I'm going to believe Chris and his apology." her voice was steady as she spoke, but she was nearly shaking with her anger.  
  
"Fine, you want to be like that and get raped or some shit? You go right ahead, Tess, but don't even come crying to me." Rob said in a cold voice. Tess looked at him like he had just slapped her.   
  
"Thanks Rob, thanks a lot." Tess muttered before pushing past him. She heard him call her name but ignored him, walking at a steady past towards catering. She was relieved to see that no one was there when she walked in. She grabbed a bottle of water and moved to the back corner of the room, sinking down against the wall. She opened the bottle, took a small sip, then dumped the rest of its contents over her head. She shook her head, her now wet brown locks clinging to her cheeks, neck, and shoulders, before resting it back against the wall. She closed her eyes and drowned everything else out.  
  
"Tess...Tess!" she felt someone shaking her shoulders. "Tess, get your ass up. Are you okay?" Tess blinked her eyes open and looked up into the concerned face of her father. Her nose crinkled up and she felt tears stinging her eyes.  
  
"No, Daddy, I'm not okay." she cried out before jumping up into his arms, holding onto him desperately. He wrapped his arms around her waist and sat down as she buried her face in his chest, sobbing. He rubbed her back soothingly with one hand.  
  
"It's okay, baby girl, tell me what's wrong." Mark said, trying to calm his daughter down. He hated seeing her upset and swore to himself that if anyone in this company had done this to her, he would shove his foot so far up their ass that they would be able to lick his toes.  
  
"I...I...I didn't do anything wrong! I just...I talked with Chris and everything was okay, even though I lost my match but then Rob said that I was going to get raped and now I'm all wet!" Tess sobbed even harder. Mark was a bit confused but continued to rub her back.  
  
"Okay...you and Chris talked about your situation, right?" he asked, trying to clairify everything. Tess nodded. "And you lost your match, but you're okay with that." she nodded again. "But Rob said you were going to get raped?" Mark finished, confusion evident in his voice.  
  
"Yeah...he said that the only reason Chris apologized to me was because he was trying to get me in bed with him, and if I didn't do it willingly that he would rape me." Tess sniffled, wiping her eyes.   
  
"I don't know Chris that well, but he did have a bad reputation with the ring rats a few years back," Mark said. "But from what I hear, he's changed somewhat for the better, so I don't really think he would rape you."   
  
"Neither do I...I mean, I know that Chris and I just now made up, but you know that I've always been good at reading people." Tess replied. Her voice was finally steadying, and no more tears leaked from her eyes.   
  
"Yes, you have." Mark told her, patting her back. She sighed and rested her head on his coller bone.  
  
"It hurt, having Rob accuse me like that. I thought he really cared for me, you know?" Tess said softly.  
  
"I know, sweetie, I know. But...maybe...maybe Rob isn't right for you." Mark said. "He's too old for you."   
  
"Daddy...I know that there is a big age gap, but look at you and Mom," Tess replied. Mark was a little suprised; this was the first time she'd brought up her mother since she'd came on the road with him. "She was ten years younger than you are."   
  
"I know...so I am being a little hypocritical there...but I'm just trying to look out for you, honestly. Look at the relationship your mother and I had. She was fifteen when she had you. She was still a kid herself, and then all the responsibility of a baby to take care of, too. And I was so much older than your mom...I could have gotten into serious, serious trouble for getting her pregnant when she was fifteen. I could've gotten arrested just for sleeping with her. I was twenty five when she had you." Mark said, sighing and running a hand through Tess's long, brown hair. "But I'm not saying that I didn't love your mom. I loved her with everything, and I do think you're right in saying that love has no age. Your mom and me got married when she was sixteen, after her parents threw her out. She wouldn't tell them for the longest time who got her pregnant. They didn't even know about me. But one night, about a month or so after you were born, her parents were seriously thinking about filing for full custody of you. See, her parents were extremely embarresed that their fifteen year old daughter had a baby. They were so ashamed of her. She called me that night and I came over, got you and her, and you both stayed at my place that night. Her parents raised hell. They didn't call the police, thank God, but they forbid her from ever seeing me again. When she refused to let them have custody of you, they threw her out. Told her they never wanted to see her, or you, again. She had just turned sixteen, then. You both moved in with me, and your mom and I got married. I was still wrestling in the indies then, but I was well on my way to the pros." Mark finished the story. Tess was looking up at him with big eyes.  
  
"Wow..." she muttered. "I didn't know all of that. I wonder how my other grandparents could have done that, espically to their own child..."   
  
"I know. They must've been heartless people. That night was the first and only time I had met them. They never even knew my name. When you were first born, your mom had her last name, Monroe, put on the birth certificate so that her parents wouldn't know my last name. We had it changed right after Sara and I got married."  
  
"Daddy...I want to go home. Not forever, just for a few days. Back to your house. Our house. I need to get away." Tess said to him, still curled up in his arms.   
  
"I have a house show tomorrow that I can't get out of, but I'll talk to Vince and see if he'll give me a couple of days off. We both need it." Mark said. Tess nodded and got up off of him.  
  
"You go talk to him now. I'm going to take a shower." Tess replied before walking out of the catering room back towards the women's locker room.  
  
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Two days later, Mark and Tess were back home in Houston. He managed to get a week off, with Vince pitching to the fans that 'Taker had pulled a muscle while training. Tess sighed as they entered their home, a place she hadn't been to in a long while. Mark wrapped an arm around her shoulder and closed the front door to their large ranch home behind them.  
  
"It's good to be home." he said. Tess nodded, and he leaned down, placing a soft kiss on top of her head. "Go take your bag up to your room. I'll be in the kitchen." Mark said. Tess nodded again and grabbed her black duffle bag, which was stuffed with a weeks worth of clothes and toilitries. She carried it into her familiar room and dropped it onto her bag, before turning and walking back downstairs to the kitchen. Her father was sitting at the kitchen table, an open coke in front of him and a closed one sitting in front of the chair beside him. Tess slid into the chair and cracked open her coke, taking a sip of it. She tried to ignore the uncomfortable silence.   
  
"Tess, I just want you to know that I'm always here for you. If you ever need me, or if you're ever in trouble or anything, anything at all...just tell me." Mark said. Tess looked at him with a sort of confused look on her face. She knew all of this. "I love you, baby girl." he finished. Tess smiled softly at him and leaned over, hugging him.  
  
"I love you too, Daddy." she said. They talked for a while longer before Mark decided to go take a bit of a nap; they had had a long flight to Houston. Tess decided to do the same and went up to her room. She changed into a pair of silk pajama pants that were red with black Japanese writing on them, and a simple white tank top. She curled up in her bed, tossing and turning for nearly an hour before realizing that she couldn't sleep. She got up and slid her house shoes on, before walking out of her room. She had been thinking about what her father had told her about her mom's parents. She wanted to find out more about them. She walked up another flight of stairs quietly, opening the door at the top to reveal an attic. It was full of boxes and old, dusty chests, and Tess knew for a fact that some of her mother's things from her childhood were in there. Her mother had never allowed her to look at anything in the attic, and now Tess knew why. She rummaged through a few trunks, finding nothing to help her in her search. Finally, she opened a trunk that had another box inside of it. She took the box off and blew dust off of the top. After the top of the box was cleared off, she saw a piece of masking tape with the word 'Letters' written on it. She opened the box, revealing to her at least twenty-five old letters. She pulled the first one out and read it.   
  
Dear Sara,  
  
This is the first, and probably the last you will hear from us. It's been five years since you moved out. Little Contessa must be getting big and so beautiful. I was wrting to let you know that our offer still stands. We will take full custody of Contessa, and you could move back in, get your life back together. Only write us back if you plan on giving Contessa to us. If you decide to keep her, then goodbye, Sara.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Debbie and Robert Monroe  
  
Tess hardly breathed as she read this letter. It was sickening how cruel her grandparents were. She took the box of letters down to her room. She sat on her bed and read all of the rest of them. Some were old letters from her grandparents, from before her mother had gotten pregnant with her. Some were letters from her father. It took her about an hour to read them all. She looked at her bedside clock. It was nearly six p.m., and her father was still sleeping. It was then that an idea came to Tess. She grabbed her cell phone and walked downstairs. She got the phone book from the living room and looked up the number she was searching for. She wrote the number in the palm of her hand before walking outside, to her old tire swing. There was a large lake behind their house, and the tire swing overlooked it perfectly. The sun was already beginning to set, casting a dim pinkish gold glow over the calm waters. Tess sighed nervously as she flipped open her phone. She dialed the number in her hand what must have been six or seven times before actually getting the nerve to punch it in and hit 'send'. The phone rang once, twice, three times, and Tess was about to hang up, until she heard a woman's voice answer.  
  
"Hello?" the voice said.  
  
"Um...hello...is this Debbie Monroe? This is Contessa, your granddaughter..." Tess said nervously into the phone.  
  
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	10. Chapter Ten

Disclaimer: Chapters 1-3.  
  
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Chapter Ten  
  
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"Pardon?" the woman said into the phone.  
  
  
  
"This is Contessa Calloway...my mother is Sara Monroe." Tess said nervously into the phone. She stared out over the water of the lake as she waited for a response.  
  
"Contessa? Little Contessa? Oh, hello, darling." Debbie said. Tess could tell that this woman was rich; her voice sounded prim and proper.   
  
"Um...yeah..." Tess stuttered. She was nervous as hell.  
  
"How old are you now, darling? Eleven, twelve?"   
  
"I'm eighteen." Tess snapped. She figured that the woman could at least remember her age.   
  
"Ah, really? Well, how is your mother?" Tess glared, even though she knew that Debbie couldn't see her. Her voice had no concern, no emotion in it whatsoever.   
  
"She's dead, but if you hadn't been such a self-righteous bitch you would've known that!" Tess's voice was getting louder and louder with each word she spoke.   
  
"That's just too bad." Debbie said. Her voice was now dripping with false sympathy. "And don't use that language with me, young lady. I am your grandmother."   
  
"The hell you are! You been nothing to me for eighteen years! Absolutely nothing! You threw my mother out for not giving me up to you! You are scum!" Tess yelled into the phone before flipping it closed. She had no desire to talk to that bitch anymore. She sighed a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through her light brown hair, before climbing out of her tire swing. She slid her house shoes back onto her feet and hurried back into the house. She threw her phone down onto the kitchen table and retreated to her room, closing the door quietly. She moved to her bed in an angry huff, plopping down and wrapping her red comforter around her. She heard her dad stirring in the next room, but didn't make a move to go greet him downstairs in the kitchen, where she knew he would retreat to.   
  
'I am so damn stupid sometimes!' Tess thought to herself. She had no idea why she had the impulse to call her grandparents...curiosity, she guessed. She lay in her bed for the better part of an hour before falling into an uneasy sleep.  
  
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Debbie sighed and hung up her phone. She looked over at her husband, who was reading the paper.  
  
"Who was that, dear?" Robert asked his wife in his gruff voice. Debbie looked at him, her thin, penciled on eyebrows raising slightly.  
  
"It was Contessa, darling." she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Our granddaughter. The first time we've heard from her in years!" Debbie raised a trembling hand to her dark red lips. Robert grunted and returned to reading the paper.  
  
"Well, dear, why's she calling? She have a drug problem? Knocked up early, like her mama?" He asked from behind the paper. Debbie shook her head.  
  
"I don't know why she was calling. She hung up on me." Debbie's voice was barely above a whisper now.   
  
"Then why worry about it? It's obvious the girl wants nothing to do with us."   
  
"I suppose you're right, darling. I believe I will try to contact her again sometime soon, though. We may actually get her...and we've wanted her for so long." Debbie muttered, shaking her head.  
  
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Tess woke up with a pounding headache a few hours later. She opened her eyes, but everything was blurry. She felt horrible. Her entire body felt weak. She brought a hand up to her forehead, and it was very hot.  
  
"Daddy!" she called out in the loudest voice she could muster, hoping her father would hear her. Soon enough, she heard her door opening.   
  
  
  
"What's wrong, baby girl?" Mark asked, walking over to his daughter's bed. She looked pitiful. Her skin was pale, and her hair and pillow were drenched in sweat.   
  
"I don't feel good, Daddy." Tess squeaked. She was feeling worse and worse by the minute. Mark reached a hand over and felt of her forehead.  
  
"Tess, baby, you're burning up." Mark's voice was full of concern as he brushed his daughter's damp hair off of her forehead. She moaned pitifully, curling up into a little ball. Her light green eyes had a distant look in them.   
  
"What's wrong with me?" Tess asked, her voice extremely soft.  
  
"I don't know, baby, but we need to get you to the hospital." he replied, scooping Tess up into his arms. She hung in his arms limply, her head resting on his collar bone. He moved swiftly out of her room, down the stairs, and out of the house. He opened the back door to his Explorer and gently put Tess in, letting her lay down and take up the entire back seat. He then got into the front and sped off towards the hospital. They arrived about fifteen minutes later. Mark picked Tess back up and hurridly carried her inside.  
  
"Someone, help her and help her now." Mark growled, approaching the front desk. The receptionist looked up at him, and, noticing his size and the look on his face, immediately rousing a doctor. Tess was limp in Mark's arms, and he could feel her skin burning through her thin pajama top. She whimpered and turned her head so that it was buried in his chest.  
  
"That will be her doctor, right there." the receptionist said, pointing to the man that had just walked up behind them.   
  
"Hello, I'm Dr. Williams." the man said. "What seems to be the problem?"  
  
"I don't know. I was downstairs and I heard her call out for me, so I came up, and she was lying in bed, covered in sweat. She's burning up." Mark said. Tess could hear the anxiety in his voice.   
  
"Follow me." Dr. Williams said. Tess closed her eyes as they moved down the hallway. She hated hospitals. Absolutely hated them. The smell, the suffering, the death. It all scared her. They entered a room and the doctor instructed Mark to lay her down on the bed.   
  
"Tess, tell me how you feel." Dr. Williams said, coming over to her. He took her wrist in his hand, measuring her pulse.  
  
"Like shit." Tess said bitterly. "I feel like I'm on fire. My vision is blurry. I'm queasy."   
  
"We need to run some tests. I'm going to have a nurse come in and give you a shot, it should help bring down your fever. " Dr. Williams said before leaving the room. Mark pulled a seat next to the bed.  
  
"Baby girl, how are you feeling?" Mark asked. He looked at her, concern filling his eyes. She blinked her light green eyes open and looked up at him.   
  
"Not good at all." she said in a soft voice. She was beginning to get scared. Her entire body felt weak, and she was burning up. She felt sick to her stomach. The door to her room opened and a nurse walked in, a syringe in her hand.   
  
"Roll over, dear. I need to administer this through your hip." she said in a high-pitched voice. Tess struggled, but finally got onto her side. The nurse pulled back the thin sheets that were covering her body, only to see that she was still in her pajamas. She clicked her tongue and pulled off her pajama bottoms and tank top, leaving her laying there in just her bra and panties. She began to shiver even though she was hot, and reached to pull the sheets back over her body.   
  
"Wait until I give you your shot." the nurse said, pulling the covers back down. Tess glared at her.  
  
"Then hurry it up." Tess snapped. The nurse rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue again, before sticking the needle in Tess's hip. Tess flinched but bit her lip, opting not to say anything else. After that, the nurse pulled her covers back up.  
  
"The doctor will bring you a gown when he comes back in." she said, before leaving the room. Mark reached over and took one of Tess's small hands in his large ones. She sighed nervously, but still didn't say anything. Mark didn't say anything either, just sat there, trying to silently comfort her. Dr. Williams returned to the room a few minutes later.   
  
"Feeling any better, Tess?" he asked, looking over her chart.   
  
"I don't feel as hot." Tess replied. He nodded and wrote something on the chart.  
  
"Good, the shot is doing it's job." Dr. Williams said in his strong voice. Tess nodded and looked to her father, who was now sitting with his elbows propped on his knees, face in hands, looking down.   
  
"Mr. Calloway, we need to run some tests on your daughter." Dr. Williams said, repeating what he had already told them earlier. Mark nodded.  
  
"What do you think is wrong with her?" Mark asked, looking up at the doctor.   
  
"We're not sure, yet. Tess, have you been feeling sick recently?" Dr. Williams turned his gaze towards Tess.  
  
"Well...about a week or two before I went on the road with my dad, I was kind of sick. Nothing big, though." Tess replied. "I had just been a little queasy and lightheaded, and I was sleeping a lot." the doctor nodded.  
  
"Mr. Calloway," he started, looking back towards Mark. "Is there a history of cancer in your family?"  
  
Tess froze when she heard the word 'cancer'. Cancer? She could have cancer? The very thing that had taken her mother from her mere months before? She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to look at anyone. Tears burned behind her eyelids.  
  
"Um...on her...on her mother's side, yes." Mark answered in a quiet voice. "Tess's mom passed away from cancer just a few months ago, and her grandmother had it for years, but she's been in remission since Tess was born."   
  
"Did both of the women have the same type of cancer?" Dr. Williams asked, not looking up. He was marking more things in Tess's chart.  
  
"Yes." Mark replied.  
  
"What type of cancer did they have?" his eyes finally glanced back up, meeting Mark's.  
  
"Leukemia." Mark's heart was beginning to fill with fear.   
  
"We need to test her for that. The good news, though, is that if she does have leukemia, that we've caught it early. We can beat this." Tess couldn't hold it any longer, and a choked sob came from her throat. Mark immediately stood up and moved to her bed. He sat on the edge of it, lifting up her small body and hugging her to him. She buried her face in his chest and cried, not being able to stop. Mark soothingliy rubbed her back, tugging her closer to him. He kissed the top of her head and just let her cry.   
  
"Daddy, I can't die!" she wailed.   
  
"Tess, don't talk like that." Mark said, hugging her even closer to him. He continued to rub her back. "You're not going anywhere, baby girl. You're going to be fine." he told her strongly. I've already lost one of my girls, no way in hell am I losing the other."   
  
Tess sniffed and her tears stopped flowing, but she remained close to her father.   
  
"Here," Dr. Williams said, handing Tess a hospital gown. "Put this on, then we'll take you to have some tests run. All we're going to have to do is draw some blood." Tess nodded and slipped the gown over her head. She reached behind her back to tie the strings, but stopped when she felt Mark's hands push hers back in front of her. He tied them for her, then helped her up. He wrapped a strong arm around her slim waist and they followed the doctor out of the room, down the hallway, and into another, smaller room.   
  
"Have a seat," another nurse, who was already in the room, said to Tess. Tess nodded and walked over to the metal chair they had set up, and sat down. The nurse tied a strip of cloth around Tess's arm, right above the crook of her elbow. She then gave her a soft ball to squeeze, and inserted a needle into her vein. Tess sucked in a shallow breath and closed her eyes, squeezing the ball as blood was drawn from her arm. She sat like this until the nurse told her she was done and removed the needle from her arm. Tess bit her bottom lip as the nurse bandaged her arm. She then stood up and walked over to her father, who immediately wrapped his arms around her comfortingly. They returned to the room she was previously in. Dr. Williams came in about fifteen minutes later.  
  
"Tess, we should have your results back tomorrow morning. I'd like to keep you here overnight, just to be safe." he told them. Tess nodded. "Mark, you're welcome to stay too, if you want to have an uncomfortable night of sleep."   
  
"Of course I'm staying." Mark said.   
  
"Alright. Try to get sleep, Tess." Dr. Williams said, before leaving the room.  
  
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Author's Note: Uh oh! What's wrong with Tess? Is it cancer, or is it something else? I'll have chapter eleven out as soon as I can. :) 


	11. Chapter Eleven

Disclaimer: See chapters 1-3. :)  
  
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Chapter Eleven  
  
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"Tess, we have your results." Dr. Williams said, entering Tess's room the next morning. Tess had been awake for at least an hour, and Mark had been most of the night. She looked at the doctor nervously.   
  
"Alright." she replied in a soft voice. She was feeling much better than yesterday, but the tone of the doctor's voice worried her.  
  
"The doctors at the pathology lab have confirmed that you have leukemia." Dr. Williams said solemnly. Tess could feel her eyes welling up with tears. The doctor didn't waste anytime, at least, and told her straight out. "But as I said yesterday, we have found this early, in its first stage. We can beat this." Tess sniffed and crawled into her father's lap. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and let her cry into his chest, just as he had the day before.  
  
"Is she gonna have to go through chemo?" Mark asked. His voice was soft, one Tess had hardly ever heard him use.  
  
"Yes, she is." the doctor replied. "She'll need to do chemotherapy treatments starting next week. We don't know yet how often she'll need them, it depends on how she responds to it."  
  
"Do you need to keep her here longer? Or put her on any medicine right now?" Mark continued to rub Tess's back soothingly, even though she had stopped crying.  
  
"She can go home today. I have a prescription for her that needs to be filled, just a pill she needs to take once a day to keep her fever down." Dr. Williams supplied.   
  
"I'd like to take her home now, if that's okay. She needs to be home. She needs to rest." Mark told the doctor. He nodded and Mark helped Tess up. He handed her the pajamas she'd worn in the day before, allowing her to change back into them. She came out of the small connected bathroom a moment later, immediately returning to her father's side.   
  
"I've called in her prescription to the pharmacy, they should have it ready when you stop by." Dr. Williams told them, before shaking Mark's hand and leaving the room. Tess sighed and followed the doctor out, Mark right behind her. He gently wrapped an arm around her waist as if to help her walk.  
  
"Daddy, I can walk fine on my own. I'm not made of porcelain." Tess said, but leaned into her father. She liked the comfort. "How am I gonna tell everyone about this? It...it just came on so fast," she slowed her pace. "I knew there was a possibility I could develop it, but this young? I didn't even know it was a possibility with me being only eighteen."   
  
"I know, baby. I never thought it would happen to you, never. I thought you would never have to go through the pain and sickness your mom went through." Mark told her. They walked out of the ER doors of the hospital, where they had come in the day before. Mark's car was parked near the front, and he opened the passenger side door for Tess before climbing in the driver's seat.  
  
"How am I gonna tell them?" Tess asked again.  
  
"I don't know, baby girl. That's one thing you'll have to decide for yourself." Mark replied. "But we're calling Vince right when we get home, I don't want you wrestling anymore. Not until you're in remission."  
  
"If I go into remission." Tess mutterd, turning her head to glance out the window.  
  
"Tess, don't talk like that. You will go into remission. We caught this early. You'll be fine." Mark told her, his voice strong again.  
  
"Did you tell the same thing to Mom?" Tess snapped, looking at Mark with cold eyes. He sighed, and turned his head away.  
  
"Why are you doing this to me, Tess? Don't you think it's hard enough for me? I already lost my wife to this shit. I won't lose my baby girl to it."   
  
"Yeah...you're right." Tess told him. She smiled softly at Mark, who returned the smile. He then cranked the car and they pulled out of the parking lot. Tess turned on the radio and flipped it to a rock station, listening to it as they traveled down the road back towards their house. She felt her eyelids growing heavy as they pulled into the pharmacy. Her head rested against the back of her seat and she fell asleep.  
  
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Dawn Marie sat back in the woman's locker room, thinking. She had no idea what that little bitch Tess had going through her mind, but Dawn Marie knew that she did not like her. She had just marched in here like she owned the place, then had taken away her Rob, the Rob she had known and loved for years. Dawn Marie knew, though, the perfect thing to pull Rob and Tess apart. She had heard Rob yelling at Tess for apparently ending her feud with Chris Jericho. Dawn Marie smirked. She had the perfect plan.  
  
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* Later that day n catering at the UTC McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tennessee*  
  
"Hey, Rob!" the brown-headed woman said, walking up to her old friend. Rob turned around and smiled at the familiar voice.   
  
"Hey, Dawn Marie. What's going on?" he asked.   
  
"Oh, not much..." Dawn Marie trailied off, twirling a piece of brown hair around her index finger. She flashed a flirty smile at Rob and took a seat near where he was standing. He returned the smile and took a seat next to her. "I have a secret..." she trailed off in a singsong voice. Rob grinned at her.  
  
"What's your secret?" he asked her. She sent him another flirty smile and pressed her body against his, leaning her head in so that is was close to his ear.   
  
"Tess fucked Jericho." she whispered. She could feel Rob tense up around her.   
  
"What?" he asked. His voice had gone icy. Dawn Marie smirked to herself; her plan was working.  
  
  
  
"She did...the night after you two fought...she went to Jericho's room, and lets just say he came out a happy man the next morning." Dawn Marie's voice was a low purr. Rob got up and stormed out of catering, apparently angry. Dawn Marie stood up too, and followed him out. She found him leaning against a wall, rubbing his temples.  
  
"Rob, honey, you were too good for her, anyway." Dawn Marie said in a seductive voice as she ran her fingers down his muscular chest. "What you need is a real woman."   
  
Rob looked over at Dawn Marie and she sent him a flirty smile. She knew that she was winning. Rob wrapped his arms around her waist and crushed his lips to hers, roughly turning her around and shoving her against the wall behind him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss passionately, opening her mouth. Rob ran a hand underneath her shirt as their tongues danced, and Dawn Marie finally broke the kiss.  
  
"Come on...lets go to the woman's locker room. No one will be there for hours..." Dawn Marie said. Rob nodded and she grabbed his hand, leading him to the locker room. She opened the door and they walked inside. Dawn Marie then locked the door, and Rob began to eagerly kiss her again.  
  
'Tess is history.' Dawn Marie thought, smirking inwardly.  
  
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When Tess woke up, she was in her bed with her comforter pulled up to her chin. She reached a hand up and rubbed her eyes, before tossing her comforter back and sitting up. She stretched, then looked to her clock. It was already nearly nine at night. She threw her legs over the side of her bed and slid her house shoes on, before walking over to her door. She made her way downstairs and into the kitchen, where she saw her father sitting at the kitchen table.   
  
"Hey, Daddy." she said, taking the seat next to him. He glanced up and offered a small smile to Tess.  
  
"Hey, baby girl. Did you have a nice nap?" he asked. Tess nodded.  
  
"Yeah. I feel okay, no fever or anything." she replied.  
  
  
  
"You got a few calls while you were asleep." Mark told her. She quirked a brow at him.  
  
"Who called?" she asked, confusion apparent in her voice.  
  
"Amy, Glenn, and Chris."   
  
"Which Chris?"   
  
"Irvine." Tess blinked. Chris was calling her? She was a bit suprised, considering it had been just a few days since they had stopped their bickering.  
  
"Vince told the roster you were sick," Mark continued. "He didn't tell them with what, exactly, but they're all worried. It would probably make them feel better to call."  
  
"I believe I will." Tess said, flashing a smile at Mark before grabbing her cell phone and walking into the living room. She sat down on the large leather couch that was in the middle of the room and flipped the phone open, searching first for Glenn's number in her memory. He answered after two rings.  
  
"Hello?" she heard his voice travel through her ear piece.  
  
"Hey Glenn." she said, smiling, even though he couldn't see her.  
  
"Tess! How are you, girl?" he asked. Tess noticed that his voice sounded a bit more relieved than when he had picked up.   
  
"I'm doing alright," she replied. "Feeling a lot better."  
  
"That's good." Glenn said. "What was wrong, anyways? Flu?"   
  
"Well..." Tess started. Her voice was somewhat hesitant. "That's something that I want to tell all the people I want to tell together." Immediately after saying that, she knew that she had made it sound bad. She flinched inwardly. "It'll be the best for me."  
  
"Alright, I respect that." Glenn replied. "And I'm really sorry to cut this short, but I gotta go. I need to go over my match with Paul tonight."   
  
"Okay. Good luck, and be careful." Tess said.   
  
"I will. Be sure to watch tonight!" Glenn laughed.  
  
"You know it." Tess replied, before hanging up. After that, she called Amy and they chatted for about fifteen minutes, before Amy had to go too. Tess took a deep breath before opening her phone for the third time and searching for Chris's number. She hit the 'send' button after selecting the number and waited. It rang once, twice, three times, and Tess was about to hang up when she heard Chris's rushed voice answer from the other end.  
  
"Hello?" he said. He sounded a bit out of breath.   
  
"Hey, Chris. It's Tess." Tess replied.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked almost instantly after he heard her voice. She couldn't help by smile at his concern.  
  
"I'm doing better," she replied. "But I'm missing everyone."   
  
"When are you coming back?"   
  
"I dunno," Tess offered. "Probably not for a while." her voice had dropped to barely above a whisper.   
  
"What's wrong?" Chris asked, and Tess could tell he was truly concerned about her. She sighed, taking a quick moment to think about what she should do.  
  
"When are you off next?" she said quickly.  
  
"I have to work tomorrow, but after that I'm free for a week." Chris replied.  
  
"Come to Houston." Tess asked. "I need to talk to someone about this."  
  
"About what, Tess? What's wrong?" she could tell that Chris was getting very suspicious.   
  
"Please...just...just come here and I'll tell you then." Tess finished. "It needs to be in person."   
  
"Alright, tell your dad and I'll be there the day after tomorrow."   
  
"Thank you so much," Tess said. "It means a lot to me."  
  
"Anytime." Chris replied. They said their goodbyes and hung up. Chris sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, before putting his phone down and walking out of the locker room. He leaned back against the wall and tried to think of some reason that Tess was acting so distant. He sighed again and made his way down the hallway towards catering, but stopped abruptly when he heard a noise behind him. He turned his head and saw Dawn Marie, with Rob pressing her up against the women's locker room door. She giggled and ran her hands through his loose hair before he planted a steamy kiss on her, right in the middle of the hallway.  
  
'Oh shit,' Chris thought. 'Rob's cheating on her.'  
  
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	12. Chapter Twelve

Disclaimer: See chapters 1-3. :)  
  
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Chapter Twelve  
  
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Tess couldn't seem to sit still. It was almost as if she was nervous, but she really didn't know why. Her father and Chris would be back from the airport any minute, but she didn't see any reason why seeing Chris again would make her nervous.   
  
  
  
'I guess because after they get here, it will just be a matter of time before I tell him' Tess thought to herself. She sighed and stood up, walking into the kitchen. She grabbed a can of coke out of the fridge and cracked it open, before picking up a small medicine bottle. She took out a white pill and swallowed it with a gulp of coke, cringing. She hated taking pills. Just as she sat her coke down, she heard the front door open. She eagerly made her way from the kitchen back into the living room just in time to see her father walk through the door. Chris walked in behind him, a suitcase in his hand and his long, blonde hair loose around his shoulders. Tess smiled at him, and he returned the smile before walking over to her and pulling her into a tight hug. She returned the hug, standing on the tips of her toes to wrap her arms around his neck.   
  
"I'm glad you could make it," she said. "It means a lot."  
  
"No problem." Chris replied. "I'm happy to he here." Tess offered him another smile before absentmindedly grabbing his hand and leading him over to the couch. Mark had already left the room.  
  
"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Chris asked after a short, silent pause. His voice was gentle and caring. He had decided earlier that day to wait and tell Tess about Rob and Dawn Marie later. Tess sighed.  
  
'This is it," she told herself. She took a deep breath.  
  
"I have cancer." she mutterd, almost inaudibly. Chris sucked in a sharp breath, hoping he didn't hear what he thought he had just heard.  
  
"What...what?" Chris stammered.   
  
"I have cancer." Tess repeated, louder this time. Her head was bent low, her eyes cast downward. Chris reached over and gently tilted her head up with his thumb and index finger.   
  
"You're going to be okay." he told her, softly looking into her tear-filled green eyes.  
  
"Yeah..." she mutterd. Chris then wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his lap, hugging her close to him. She sighed and hugged him back, enjoying the comfort.  
  
"Rob hasn't even called me since I left." she told him soudly. Chris inwardly cringed; she had just told him she had cancer, he couldn't tell her about Rob and Dawn Marie now.   
  
"It's because of me, right?" Chris asked, caressing her back with his palm soothingly.   
  
"Rob is being so stupid. He's totally overreacting. He thinks that you're going to rape me." Tes rolled her eyes. Chris quirked a brow at her.  
  
"I would never do that," Chris said. "I've been rough before, but I have never, nor would I ever, rape anyone."  
  
"I know." Tess replied. "My dad told me about your history with the rats, but he doesn't think you would, either." she sighed. "I just don't know what to do anymore. Maybe I should just break it off with Rob, before I end up falling for him. Espically if he's going to keep doing stuff like this."  
  
  
  
"I think you should do whatever you think is best." Chris told her. She nodded before resting her head against Chris's shoulder.  
  
'You need to break it off,' Chris silently pleaded with her. 'If only you know what he was doing behind your back...'  
  
"I have to go to chemo." Tes said quietly after a few minutes. "I'm scared. I saw what it did to my mom."  
  
"When's your first treatment?" Chris asked.  
  
"In three days." she replied.  
  
"I'll go with you." he offered. "I want to help you get through this. I mean...I know that we haven't been friends for very long, and that our past is a not so pleasent one, but I want that to be different. I want to be here for you when you need me." Chris told her, still soothingly rubbing her back. Tess smiled at him, a genuine smile, before standing up.  
  
"Would you like anything to drink?" she asked. Chris declined and she nodded, before retrieving her coke from the kitchen. When she returned to the living room, she noticed Chris looking at the many pictures on the mantle. She smiled softly and sat her coke down, before walking quietly over to him. She stood behind him and looked at the same picture he was currently on.  
  
  
  
"That was me and my mom when I was about five." she said. He glanced back at her with a smile, before turning back to the pictures.   
  
"You were adorable." he told her. She smiled and pointed to another picture.   
  
"That was me and my mom at my high school graduation."   
  
"You looked a lot like her." Chris said, looking at the picture thoughtfully. Tess nodded.  
  
"I got Daddy's eyes, though."   
  
"You're beautiful." Chris told her, his voice soft. His eyes didn't even move from the picture as he spoke. Tess smiled as a light rosy color traveled over her cheeks. They continued talking and looking at pictures for about fifteen minutes, before Mark came down.  
  
"Tess, I have to go to the arena for a while. Vince just called, Raw has been relocated this week, it will be here. Lat minute change of plans." he told her.   
  
"Alright," she nodded. "Is it okay of Chris and I go out later? "  
  
"Yeah, but if you do go out and I'm not back yet, leave me a note."  
  
"Okay. I love you, Daddy." she said, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.   
  
  
  
"I love you too, baby girl." he returned the hug before turning and walking out of the front door. Tess sat down on the couch, leaning against the arm and propping her feat up on it. Chris looked at her with a grin.  
  
"We're going out?" he asked in a teasing tone. She grinned and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Well, if you don't want to go out that's okay..." she trailed off.  
  
"Nope, going out's fine with me." Chris replied quickly. She smiled and he moved over to the couch, sitting down. He lifted her ankles and sat them in his lap, trying to make her as comfortable as possible.  
  
"Where do you want to go?" she asked. "There's lots of fun stuff to do around here, we have karaoke bars, clubs, all these neat little tourists attractions..." she laughed. "They're still fun, though." Chris grinned at her and patted her leg.  
  
"Anything you want to do, Tess. I'm happy with anything." he smiled. She returned the smile.  
  
"Alright." she replied. She stood up and stretched. "I'm going to go shower and get ready. Just wear casual stuff, jeans and a t-shirt would be fine." she said before walking up the stairs and into her bedroom. She grabbed a pair of well-worn jeans and a light pink shirt and walked into the bathroom that was connected to her bedroom. She took a quick shower and dressed, before applying a light amount of makeup and drying her hair. After she finished, she looked at herself in her full-length mirror. She smiled before slipping on a pair of cross-trainers and walking downstairs. Chris was sitting on the couch, flipping through channels on the television. He was dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a black button-down shirt, with his blonde hair down around his shoulders still. He smiled when he looked up at her.  
  
"Wow," he said. "You look very pretty."  
  
"Thanks," she replied. "I wasn't trying to get dolled up or anything, just threw on some makeup and dried my hair." she grabbed a notepad and a pen off of the coffee table as she spoke, and wrote a short note to her father. She then ripped the piece of paper off of the pad and walked into the kitchen, laying it on the table. She returned to the living room and grabbed her keys, motioning for Chris to follow her when she turned back the other way. They walked through the kitchen and out a door near the back of the room. The room they were in now was a fairly large garage, where four Harley-Davidson motorcycles, a small, silver car, and a black SUV all were parked. Tess walked over to the car and unlocked it.  
  
"Taker and his bikes," Chris said, looking over the four shiny motorcycles. "They're nice."  
  
"Yeah," Tess replied. "These aren't all of his, though. He has more in another garage in the back. And that one," she pointed to a smaller, black and silver one. "Is mine."  
  
"Yours?" Chris asked, grinning. Tess returned the grin.  
  
"Chris, hun, the Undertaker is my father. Mark Calloway. I practically grew up on Harleys." she laughed.  
  
"Yeah, I could've guessed that, it's just that I haven't met many girls who ride motorcycles, let alone own one."  
  
"Well hey, I'm different." Tess grinned. She looked at her car, then back at Chris with a sly smile. "Feel like taking the Harley?" she asked. Chris smiled and laughed, nodding his head.  
  
"Sure," he said. "That would be awesome."   
  
"Alright, wait here. I'll be right back." Tess said, before dashing back into the house. She came out a few minutes later, a black leather jacket in her hand, and she was now wearing a black and hot pink leather jacket. She also had a new set of keys in her hand. She tossed the other jacket to Chris.  
  
"It'll probably be a little big, it's one of Dad's old jackets." Tess told him. He nodded and slipped the jacket on. Tess walked over to the door again and locked it, before hitting a button that was beside the door. It made the garage door open.   
  
"Alright, lets roll." Tess grabbed two helmets off of a shelf on the back wall. She handed the black and silver one to Chris, and kept the black and hot pink one to herself. She put it on and buckled it underneath her chin, before moving over to the motorcycle and climbing onto it. She put up the kickstand up and cranked it, balancing on her right leg until she felt Chris climb on behind her. He loosely wrapped his hands around her waist, and they took off. It wasn't a long drive to where they were going, only about twenty minutes. Tess smiled to herself, happy to be back on her Harley.  
  
'It really has been too long.' she thought to herself as they pulled into the parking lot. Tess was relieved to see that it was fairly empty. She parked the Harley and put the kickstand down, grabbed her keys, and took her helmet off. She placed it on one of the handle bars, with Chris following her lead on the other. Tess pocketed the keys and led Chris into the large building in front of him, which looked pretty plain from the outside.   
  
"Where are we, Tess?" Chris asked, looking at the place.  
  
"This is like the best place in the world." Tess replied. "Mom and I came here a lot when I was younger. It probably seems really childish to you, but I think it's fun. It's like an indoor boardwalk type place. They have all these little games and stuff." Chris smiled at her as they walked inside of the building. It was brightly lit and was filled with machines. Chris smiled, looking at the interior. True, it was a bit childish, but he could tell that it brought back a lot of happy memories for Tess. He also noticed a staircase near the back. He then felt Tess's small hand reach for his, and he gripped it lightly.   
  
"Mom took me here whenever I got good grades or did all of my chores." Tess told him. She smiled. "I haven't been here in a few years, now, not since she got real sick." Tess then led him over to a row of machines, all of them things like fortune telling machines. She looked fondly at a pink and red one.  
  
"I always used this one every time I came here." she said. "It's supposed to predict your love life." she laughed and dug two quarters out of her pocket. She inserted them into the slot of the machine and pushed a button, which then instructed her to place her hand on a glowing half-orb in the middle of it. She did, and waited a few seconds. The machine then made a dinging noise and a pink light traveled up the 'future love meter'. It stopped beside the words 'Love is in your near future'. Tess smiled.  
  
"Who knows, maybe it's right." she said, before leading Chris off into another section of the building.  
  
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	13. Chapter Thirteen

Disclaimer: Chapters 1-3. :)  
  
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Chapter Thirteen  
  
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Tess fidgeted nervously. Mark was beside her on one side, Chris on the other, and they were sitting in the waiting room of the local hospital. Tess glanced at her watch, noting that it was only about fifteen minutes until she had to go in for her first chemotherapy treatment. She took a deep breath and looked over at her father, who was now busy filling out a clipboard full of paperwork. She crossed her right leg over her left and continued to sit in silence, until a nurse with bleach-blonde hair called her name.  
  
"Contessa Calloway," she said, standing in the large doorway leading into the main part of the hospital. Tess took another deep breath and stood up, Mark and Chris following her. Chris reached for her hand and she squeezed his out of nervousness. They followed the nurse through a long hallway and into a room lit up with bright lights. The nurse instructed Tess to take a seat on the bench, which was covered in a thin sheat of paper, until the doctor came in. Tess nodded and climbed onto the bench, feeling alone and scared. The doctor was in just a few minutes later.  
  
"Hello again, Tess." he said. It was Dr. Williams, the same doctor who had seen her the previous week.  
  
  
  
"Hello, Dr. Williams." she replied. He nodded and pulled her chart out.  
  
"There is a possibility of us doing a chemo treatment today, but we may not." the doctor said. Tess quirked a brow.  
  
"What do you mean? I thought that was what I came here for." she asked.  
  
"It is, but first, we need to do a bone marrow aspiration, and possibly a spinal tap." he told her. "The bone marrow aspiration will come first, and we'll have the doctors at the pathology lab examine it and determine what type of leukemia you have. The type of the cancer will tell us whether or not we will need to do the spinal tap." Tess nodded.   
  
"How many different types of leukemia are there?" she asked.  
  
"Many, many types, but the four main types are acute lymphocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and chronic myeloid leukemia. We believe that you have either acute lymphocytic leukemia or acute myeloid leukemia." Tess nodded again.  
  
"We will be giving you a light anesthesia for your bone marrow aspiration. The anesthesiologist will administer the anesthesia intravenously, and we will take the sample of your bone marrow through your hip. You will more than likely feel a slight amount of pain, because the anesthesia we are giving you isn't going to totally knock you out."  
  
"Why not just go ahead and do that, so I can't feel it?" Tess asked, anxiety in her voice. She hated needles.  
  
"Because we don't like to administer heavy anesthesia unless it is absolutely necessary, which, in your case it is not." the doctor marked something on her chart. "I'm going to get the anestheologist now, and we'll get started." Dr. Williams's voice was positive. "Oh, and put this on." he handed her a thin hospital gown.   
  
"Alright." she said. She looked around the small room and noticed that there was no bathroom connected to this one, as there was in her previous one. She shrugged and pulled her jacket off.  
  
"Tess, don't you need to go to a bathroom and change?" Mark asked her. She knew that he didn't want her changing in front of Chris.  
  
"Daddy," she said, tugging her shirt over her head. "Chris is a grown man, he's seen women in their underwear before. It is not a big deal." she took her Birkenstocks off and stood up, sliding out of her jeans. She was now standing in the middle of a small hospital room with her father and Chris Irvine, in a matching set of a pink and white bra, and pink and white bikini cut panties. Mark sighed and shook his head as she attempted to tie the strings in the back by herself unsuccessfully. He reached over and tied them for her, just as he had the previous week. Tess pulled the black hair tie off of her wrist and pulled her brown hair into a ponytail, just as Dr. Williams and the anesthesiologist walked back through the door. Dr. Williams was holding a syringe with a very large needle in it, and the anesthesiologist was wheeling a cart.  
  
"Tess, this is Dr. Rogers, she'll be administering your anesthesia." the woman smiled at Tess. She returned the smile and wrung her hands together nervously.  
  
"Alright, Tess, I'll need you to lay down on your stomach for me." Dr. Rogers said. Her voice was warm and comforting, like a grandmothers, and it made Tess calm down considerably. She turned onto her stomach and rested her head on her folded arms. Dr. Rogers rolled over a stand that had a drip bag attached to it.   
  
"Give me your left hand, please." she said, offering a small smile to Tess. She returned it and stuck her left hand out. Dr. Rogers took her hand and pulled her middle finger away from the rest. What looked like a finger cast was attached to a cord on the drip bag. In a quick motion, she clipped it to Tess's finger. She felt a prick and knew that that was her IV. She re-crossed her arms and rested her head on them again.  
  
"It should only take a few minutes for the anesthesia to kick in. Tell us when you begin to feel lightheaded and drowsy." Dr. Williams said. Tess nodded and waited. He was right, because just a few minutes later, a wave of lightheadedness swept over her.  
  
"Okay, it's working." she said. Dr. Williams nodded.  
  
"I'm going to put a numbing agent on the spot of entry," Dr. Williams said, lifting up her gown to her waist. She felt him rub a cold, thick gel on her leg and shivered slightly. "Now, take a deep breath, and have Mark or your friend hold your hand. It may help the pain." he told her. She cringed and held her arms out. Both Mark and Chris came over to her, and she held one of their hands in each of her hands.   
  
"Take a deep breath, Tess." he told her. She did as he told her to and squeezed her eyes shut. She felt the needle push past her skin and travel farther and farther.   
  
'This isn't so bad,' she told herself. But that was before she felt the needle hit her bone. Dr. Williams had to forcefully push it, harder and harder as it penetrated her hip bone. A muffled cry escaped her lips and she squeezed the two hands in hers tightly. The thick needle dug through her bone painfully.   
  
"We're almost done, Tess." Dr. Williams said. He had apparently reached the marrow and took a sample through the syringe. He then slowly extracted the needle.   
  
"All done," he said, wiping her hip off with a damp towelette. He then placed a medium-sized bandage over it and Dr. Rogers unhooked her IV.  
  
"Thank God..." Tess muttered, rubbing her hip as she sat up. She winced. She could tell that her hip would be sore for a day or so.  
  
"Alright, we're going to take this down to the pathology lab. It will take them a few hours to determine which type of leukemia it is, so you can go and grab a bite to eat, or go back home for a while if you want. Be back by three p.m." Dr. Williams said.  
  
"Thank you, doctor." Mark told him. He nodded, and both he and Dr. Rogers left the room. Tess took the hospital gown off and slipped back into her jeans and t-shirt. She slid her shoes back on and began to walk towards the door. She let out an audible gasp, noting the pain in her leg. After that, she immediately felt an arm go around her waist. She looked over to see Chris. She smiled softly at him and he returned the smile, helping her walk out.  
  
"Tess, do you want to go get something to eat?" Mark asked her. She shook her head.  
  
"I really would just like to go home and lay down. Maybe we can order something in?" she asked. Mark smiled and nodded.  
  
"Anything for you, baby girl." he told her, leaning over and placing a kiss on her forehead.  
  
"Thanks, Daddy." she said, returning his smile. He nodded and they walked out of the hospital doors to Mark's black SUV, that was parked near the front. Tess slowly climbed into the back, laying down and allowing herself to stretch her leg out. They pulled out of the hospital's parking lot and were back to Tess's house within fifteen minutes. Chris helped her limp back into the house, where they situated themselves on the couch in the living room. Tess was resting back against the arm of it, with her legs stretched out over Chris's. Mark ordered a pizza and they all sat around the living room, talking and eating, until it came time for them to return to the hospital.  
  
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"We have your results back, Tess. You have acute myeloid leukemia. Acute forms of leukemia spread faster than chronic forms, which means that we need to start chemotherapy sooner. We would like to do the first treatment today." Dr. Williams told them. Tess was sitting in the same room as earlier that day, back in another hospital gown. "We'll take you to a larger room, and begin the treatment."  
  
"Okay. How exactly do you do chemo?" Tess asked.  
  
"We'll administer an IV through your arm, and the drugs will enter you that way. Now, you will probably feel very sick after these treatments," Dr. Williams said. "Nausea, mouth sores, possible loss of hair. You'll bruise and bleed easily, and you may lose weight. You may also lose your appetite, but it is very important that you keep your strength up by eating plenty of proteins. You'll also have to keep a watch on your calories, because you'll need to keep you weight up, too." the doctor said as they walked down the nearly empty hospital corridor. They arrived at a large door and the doctor opened it, revealing a large room with a bed, a television, a chest of drawers, and a connecting bathroom. Chris led Tess over to the bed and helped her lay down. The doctor had left to get her medication, and he came back in a few minutes later with a nurse in tow. They hooked up her IV and the drugs began pumping into her system. Tess closed her eyes and lay her head back against the pillows behind her, nausea already sweeping over her body. The treatment was over quicker than she expected, and the doctor told her she could leave. She sat up, and immediately rushed to the bathroom. Chris followed her into the bathroom, where she was leaning over the toilet. He looked at her sadly, hating that she had to feel this way. He heard her cough and knelt down beside her, holding her hair back and rubbing her back as she vomited. He kept doing this until she was finished, her nausea finally passing. He got a washcloth and wet it with cool water, gently wiping off her forehead. She looked up at him and smiled weakly. He returned the smile and reached down, lifting her up into his arms. She went limp, feeling bad from the treatment. He walked out of the bathroom and nodded at Mark. He returned the nod and they walked out of the room, out to the car, and back home. After arriving there, Chris carried her back inside and lay her down on the couch. He watched her as she came close to falling asleep, when her cell phone rang.  
  
"Hello?" she said tiredly into the phone. When she heard the voice on the other side, she immediately perked up. "Rob, I'm so glad you finally called!" Chris froze - Rob was calling. He sat there in shock and listened to her end of the conversation, as she told Rob everything, from her having cancer to her first chemo treatment. She happened to leave out the fact that he was there. She was smiling widely as she hung up the phone fifteen minutes later.  
  
"Chris, Rob called! I didn't think he was going to...I'm so happy." she smiled. Chris attempted to smile, but it only came out as a grimace. She looked at him with concern.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked. He sighed.  
  
"It's Rob." Chris said. There seemed to be a strain on his voice. Tess looked at him with a confused expression on her face.   
  
"What about Rob?"  
  
"Right after you called me a few days ago..." he said. It sounded like he was having a tough time telling her whatever he was trying to. "I was walking down the hallway towards gorilla, and I saw Rob with Dawn Marie outside of the woman's dressing room. They were more than a bit friendly..." he told her, finally getting it all out. He didn't expect what came next.  
  
"How could you tell me a thing like that?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Rob wouldn't do that to me. I thought I could trust you, Chris. But now I see that I can't." her voice and turned icy. Chris looked at her, seemingly hurt.  
  
"Tess, I wouldn't lie to you." he told her strongly.  
  
"Bullshit! Rob just told me how much he missed me, and how he couldn't wait for me to come back. Maybe he was right about you, Chris." she spat. Chris shook his head and stood up. He walked to the guest room, gathered his suitcase, and called a cab from his cell phone. Tess was still sitting angrily on the couch when he walked back out.   
  
"I'm sorry." he whispered, before walking outside, where his cab was waiting on him.  
  
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	14. Chapter Fourteen

Disclaimer: See chapters 1-3. :)  
  
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Chapter Fourteen  
  
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Tess sighed as she made her way into the arena. She was back on the road again, with her father. Dr. Williams had told them that she was reacting wonderfully with her chemotherapy, and that it was alright for her to go back on the road, as long as she didn't do anything to terribly strenuous. She was attending chemotherapy at the local hospital of whatever city they were in at the time, and her father had hired her a nurse to travel with them, just in case. She pushed pass a few new jobbers that were hanging around in catering, wanting to get to one place.   
  
"Hey, Tess." she heard a soft voice call from behind her as she walked down an empty hallway. She froze and turned around, glaring.  
  
"What do you want, Chris?" she growled.   
  
"I wanted to apologize." he said. "But not for what I told you. What I told you is the truth, Tess. I swear it, I wouldn't lie to you. I'm just sorry that I can't make you see that." he sighed. She shook her head.  
  
"Well Chris, you blew it. Quite honestly, I don't want to have anything to do with you, espically right now. I'm going to find Rob." she said before turning and walking off. Chris sighed and ran a hand over his tired face before retreating back into his dressing room. Tess continued to make her way towards Rob's dressing room. She smiled. Rob had no idea that she was coming. She hadn't talked to him since the day Chris left her house in Houston. The only problem was that she had no idea where his dressing room was. She shook her head, noting that the dressing rooms were always clumped together. She looked at each door as she passed it, and finally spotted his, all the way at the end of the hallway. She approached the door quietly, hoping to suprise him. She placed her hand on the doorknob and listned for a moment...she thought she vaugely heard a female's voice. She shook her head, thinking that she was just being paranoid about what Chris said. She opened the door slowly, not making a sound. That's when she saw it. She froze. Rob sitting on one of the benches, pressed against the wall, with Dawn Marie on top of him. He had his hands up her top, and they were making out. Neither of them even realized that Tess had entered the room.  
  
"Oh my God! I should have believed Chris!" Tess yelled suddenly. Rob and Dawn Marie broke apart abruptly. Rob looked at her. "He told me you were screwing around on me! You scumbag!" Rob got up and quickly walked over to her.   
  
"Tess, it's not what you think, I swear." he said, trying to put his arms around her. She shoved him off of her.   
  
"Then what the fuck is it? Huh? She fell and your lips broke her fall?" Tess growled. "I can't believe I didn't believe Chris. He told me the day you called me that you were doing this, but no, I believed you. I was SO stupid." she turned to walk out of the room. Rob reached foreward and roughly grabbed her arm.   
  
"Oh, so Chris was there?" he jerked her arm. "You were fucking around on me, Tess!" she glared at him and reached up with her free hand, slapping him hard across the face.  
  
"Screw you, Rob. I wasn't fucking around on you. Chris was there for me when you weren't. He was a true friend." she jerked her arm away from him and exited the room. Tears blurred her vision as she made her way down the winding hallways, and out of the arena.  
  
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Chris sighed as he walked down to Rob's dressing room. He had decided that he needed to sort this thing out with Tess, once and for all, and figured she would be there. He rapped on the door loudly. He waited with his arms crossed over his chest. Rob answered the door a few seconds later.  
  
"What do you want?" he growled.  
  
"Where's Tess?" Chris asked calmly.  
  
"Oh, she's not with you? I figured she was with her fuck buddy." Rob said with a smug grin. Chris glared at him.  
  
"Shut the fuck up, Rob, or you'll end up in trouble. Don't ever talk about Tess like that again. Now, where is she?"  
  
"I don't know, Jericho. She left. I figured she went after you." Rob rolled his eyes.  
  
"No. And no one else has seen her."  
  
"Oh well. Maybe she went home, it'd do as all some good to have her out of our hair." Rob laughed.  
  
  
  
"Whatever, Rob." he turned and walked off towards catering. He spotted Mark and walked over to him.  
  
"Mark, have you seen Tess?" he asked the Dead Man. Mark looked up from his coffee and shook his head.  
  
"No, why?" Mark replied.   
  
"She caught Rob and Dawn Marie together and no one's seen her since." Chris told him. Mark stood up.  
  
"This can't be good. I know that back home, when she was little, she'd run off into the woods behind the house when she got upset." Mark sighed and shook his head. "Chris, you go tell some of the people Tess really trust about this and all of you look for her. I need to go have a word with Van Dam." Chris nodded and turned, walking back out of catering. He quickly walked to the woman's locker room and knocked on the door. Trish cracked it.  
  
"What is it, Chris?" Trish said. It was apparent that she still didn't trust Chris very much.   
  
"Please, let me come in. I really need to talk to you and Amy." he begged. His blue eyes were pleading with her brown ones. She stared back at him and nodded.  
  
"Alright." she said, stepping aside. He pushed the door the rest of the way open and walked in. Amy was now standing near them, her arms crossed over her chest.  
  
"Look, I know neither of you want to see me right now, but this is serious." Chris told them. "Tess caught Rob with Dawn Marie, and then she dissappeared. Mark said that when she was younger she'd run off when she got upset, and he thinks that's what she did now. I need you to tell Shane, Matt, and Jeff, and help me look for her." he said, looking up at them with sad blue eyes. Trish and Amy's anger at him seemed to suddenly dissappear, and they both nodded their heads.  
  
"Sure, no problem. It's only about twenty minutes to show, though, and most of us have matches." Amy said. "I think that you and Shane are the only ones that don't."  
  
"Alright...tell Shane to head back to the hotel and look for her there. I need to go talk to Mark." Chris said, before turning and leaving the room. He was once again moving around the arena at a fast pace, searching for Mark. He finally spotted him in the ring with Kevin about ten minutes later.  
  
"Mark! Hey, I need to talk to you for a minute." Chris said. Mark nodded, slid out of the ring, and walked over to the shorter man.  
  
"Did you find her?" he asked. Chris shook his head. "Damnit..." Mark swore. "We're in San Diego, she could be anywhere."  
  
"Are there any particular places she likes around here?" Chris asked.  
  
"Yeah. She loves the beach. She says she especially likes the beaches at night, because they're calm and quiet, with hardly any people." It was if a lightbulb had gone off inside of Chris's head. The beach!  
  
"I'm going to look for her." Chris took off out of the arena. He climbed into his rental and drove for about fifteen minutes, until he saw an asphalt lot that had stairs leading down into the sand. He parked the car and got out, trying to spy her from there in the dark night. The moon wasn't out at all, and there were barely any stars, so he didn't have much natural light to see by. He took his shoes and socks off and made his way down the steps onto the beach.  
  
'This place is huge,' he thought to himself. 'She could be anywhere.' He sighed and took off in one direction, hoping that she was somewhere close.  
  
"Tess!" he called out. After a few tries he gave up yelling her name. He figured that even if she did hear him that she wouldn't come to him. Hell, she might even run off at the sound of his voice. He continued to walk down the sandy beach. The shoreline would come up and crash against his feet ever so often, but he hardly even noticed as he looked for a figure in the darkness.  
  
"Tess," he attempted to call once more, but his voice was barely above a whisper. He was beginning to lose hope. He checked his watch, mashing a button so it would glow green. Ten o'clock. He'd been on this beach searching for an hour now. He sighed and was about to turn and go back when he saw a figure. It was completely black, but he knew that it was a human.   
  
'Could it be Tess?' he wandered. He shook his head, deciding that he didn't have time to contemplate and decide. He took off at a steady pace, coming closer and closer to the dark figure. He was finally close enough to see the outline of it when a breeze picked up, and blew long hair behind its head. A female. He knew it was her, just knew it.  
  
"Tess," he whispered, now close enough for her to hear him. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and when she turned her head to look at him, he could see that her cheeks were tearstained. She sniffed and stood up.  
  
"Oh God, Chris, I...I am so...so sorry," she stuttered as she flung herself onto him. Her arms went into a vicegrip around his neck as she pulled him close to her, clinging to the comfort. His strong arms circled her waist as she cried into his chest. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." she repeated over and over. He shook his head as he lowered himself to the sand and pulled her into his lap.  
  
"Tess, baby, calm down, calm down...It's okay, I understand. I'm not mad at you. I'm just so relieved that I found you...you had us all scared." he whispered soothingly into her hair as her tiny body curled into a ball in his lap. Her shoulders shook with her sobs as Chris held her close to him.   
  
"It'll be okay..." he said as he rocked her soothingly. He let her cry into his chest until her tears subsided. She looked up at him.  
  
"He really did cheat on me." she hiccuped. "He used me. I'm just lucky we never...you know...did anything."  
  
"I know, sweetheart." he said, rocking her."Rob is an asshole. There is no way, absolutely no way that you deserved this, Tess." he kissed the top of her head. "You're an amazingly sweet, caring, beautiful girl and you only deserve the best." he finished.   
  
"Do you mean that?" she asked. He nodded. "Thank you, Chris. That means a lot to me. And thank you for forgiving me for not believing me."  
  
"It's really no problem. I understand where you were coming from. " Chris replied. Tess nodded.  
  
"Thank you." she whispered as she closed her tired eyes.  
  
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	15. Chapter Fifteen

Disclaimer: See chapters 1-3. :)  
  
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Chapter Fifteen  
  
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"Tess, don't run off like that anymore, chick! You had us scared!" Amy said to her friend, giving her a hug. She and Chris had just arrived back at the arena. Tess offered her a small smile.  
  
"I'm sorry. I just need some time alone, and some time to think. Took me all of the hour and a half I was gone to get over Rob. I decided that he wasn't worth my tears." Tess told Amy. Chris nodded, even though he knew that Tess was just telling Amy that ease her worries. Tess was really hurt by what Rob had done to her.  
  
"I understand. Just tell us next time, okay?" Amy finished with a smile, before turning and walking off. Tess turned to Chris, looking up at him.  
  
"Thank you for coming to find me." she said. "It means a lot to me that everyone was so worried, but it means so much more that you were the one to come and find me, after all the things I said to you." she finished with her head tilted down. Chris shook his head.  
  
"Tess, I know that you really didn't mean those things. And as for me finding you...I just had to. I was so worried." he told her. She looked up at him with a small smile. He returned the smile and pulled her into a hug. She had to stand on the tips of her toes to wrap her arms around his neck.  
  
"I better go tell Dad I'm back. I'll come find you afterwards, okay?" she asked. He nodded, and she took off towards catering. Chris sighed and smiled slightly as he watched the small girl walk off.   
  
'Damn,' he thought, watching as the last bit of her brown hair dissappeared around the corner. 'I think I'm falling for her.'  
  
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"Hey." Tess heard a voice behind her speak up as she was walking towards her father's dressing room. She froze as she recognized the voice.  
  
"What do you want?" she asked Rob without turning around.  
  
"I wanted to apologize, baby...you know I never wanted to hurt you...it's just...she told me that you slept with Chris...and it made me see red." he said. She whipped around, glaring at him.  
  
"You know what, Rob? I don't care! I don't care what you say about it! Sorry doesn't cut it! We are finished, Rob. Finished for good. You shouldn't believe everything you hear. Now, I need to go talk to my father, not stand here and yell at you." she finished before turning and walking into her father's dressing room, leaving a very stunned Rob standing there, looking after her. Tess grinned to herself as she closed the door behind her.  
  
"Daddy?" she called out. She waited for a few moments before her father emerged from the showers.   
  
"Tess, where did you run off to?" he asked, pulling his daughter into a hug.   
  
"The beach. I needed some time to think." she told him. He nodded.  
  
"Alright, that's reasonable. If you need to do it again sometime, though, just tell us, alright?" Tess nodded.   
  
"I think I'm gonna go find Chris now, I told him I would after I talked to you." she said. Mark nodded and gave her another hug. She offered him a small smile before walking out of his dressing room. She went first to see if Chris was in his dressing room, but it was empty and locked.   
  
'Maybe he's down at the ring,' she told herself. She walked through catering and was about to go down the ramp when she bumped right into someone.  
  
"Oh! I'm sorry." she said, looking up into John Cena's crystal blue eyes. He smiled at his friend and helped her up.  
  
"No problem, girl. Where's that pretty head of yours been lately?" he asked. She shrugged, offering him a smile.  
  
"You know me, I'm kinda absent minded." she said. He shook his head with a laugh, before lightly squeezing her upper arm and walking off. She grinned and continued off to the arena, where the ring was still set up. The crew was busy moving out lights and other props, making the arena seem much dimmer than normal. She looked to the ring and spotted Chris's long blonde hair from where he was sitting on top of a turnbuckle. She made her way down the ramp towards the ring.  
  
'It's really weird coming down here with no crowd...' she thought to herself as she approached the apron of the ring. She slid into the ring from underneath the bottom rope and looked up at Chris, who seemed to be lost in his own world. She just sat at the side of the ring, her knees pulled up to her chest, watching him with a slight smile on her face.  
  
'He really is a gorgeous man...' she thought to herself with a smile.   
  
"Hey." she said, finally breaking the silence. He snapped his head to the side and looked at her.  
  
"Oh, hey." he replied, hopping down off of the turnbuckle. She stood up and walked over to him. He smiled and pulled her into a hug. She gasped with suprise before wrapping her arms around his neck and standing on the tips of her toes so he didn't have to bend down as much. He buried his face in her hair, breathing in the scent of her coconut shampoo mixed with the smell of the beach. He ran his fingertips over her back softly, not wanting to let her go. Eventually she pulled away from him, looking up at him with a smile.  
  
"What was that for?" she asked, laughing a little. He grinned and shrugged.  
  
"Just felt like hugging you. Relieved that you're here." he told her. He looked as if he was about to say something else when one of the crew members approached the ring.   
  
"Chris, Tess, we need to get the ring down now." he told them. Chris nodded and took Tess's hand in his, helping her out of the ring. He didn't let go of her hand as they walked up the ramp in silence, and got back into the now empty catering, which only had a few bottles of water sitting in a cooler. Tess sat down and Chris reached into the chest, pulling out two bottles, before moving over to sit with her. He sat across from her at the small table and slid the water over to her. She uncapped it and took a sip before looking up at him.  
  
"I was going to come back, later tonight. Hail a cab back to the hotel." she told him. He nodded.  
  
"No one really thought you had run away, or anything...we were just scared that you were going to get hurt, or something. San Diego is a big place, and it's full of bad people."  
  
"Like Rob...then again, where ever he goes is bound to be a bad place..." Tess said, mainly to herself. Chris reached across the table and took her hand in his. His hands were rough and calloused, but still had a soft feel to them. Tess looked up at him.  
  
"He's not worth your time. You deserve someone better than him...much better. You deserve someone who will treat you like the princess you are. Not some sleazebag like Rob who'll go off and screw anything with a pulse behind your back. You need someone true to you and only you." Chris told her. She smiled slightly and stood up, moving over and sitting in the seat next to him.  
  
"Do you really mean that?" she asked quietly. He nodded.  
  
"Every word of what I just said is true." he said, patting her leg right above her knee. She smiled and rested her hand, which was much smaller than his, over the one on her leg.   
  
"I really appreciate that, Chris. It means a lot to me." she told him, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. He smiled, almost to himself, as she sat back into her chair.   
  
"Tess, I -" Chris started, but before he could say anything else the door burst open. Mark walked in.  
  
"Hey, Tess, we need to get a move on. I have to be at the arena early tomorrow." the Deadman told his daughter. Tess nodded.  
  
"I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?" she told Chris. He nodded and stood up, pulling the small girl into a hug.  
  
"Altight." he said. She flashed him a small smile before walking off behind her father. Chris sighed.  
  
'Smooth, Irvine.' he told himself. 'You get the courage to tell her and your moment is ruined. Go figure.'  
  
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Tess was awake early the next morning. She glanced at the glowing numbers of the digital clock beside her, sighing when she read 4:02 a.m. She knew that she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. She sat up in her bed and stretched, before tossing the covers back and getting up. She opened the pill bottle that was sitting on her bedside table and took one of the small tablets out. She made her way over to the small mini kitchen and took a bottle of water out of the refridgerator. She swallowed the pill and recapped the bottle.   
  
'What am I supposed to do for two hours?' Tess asked herself. She knew that her father would be up by 6:15. 'I guess I'll take a bath.' she thought. The bathroom of their hotel room had a very large bathtub, so Tess figured she may as well use it. She grabbed a pair of light denim hip-huggers, a green t-shirt, and clean underwear before going into the bathroom and closng the door. She turned on the light and began running warm water into the tub. Looking through the medicine cabinent, she discovered a small bottle of peach bubble bath, and poured a healthy amount of it into the stream of running water. She grabbed her shampoo and conditioner out of the shower and undressed. She slid into the warm water with a sigh, resting her head against the tub. The bubbles engulfed her body as the water continued to rise. Tess eventually turned it off before it rose to the rim of the tub. She relaxed in the tub and almost fell asleep, until a buzzing noise snapped her out of her daze. She checked her watch and realized that it was six, and that was her father's wake up call. She hurridly washed her hair and shaved, before draining the water from the tub and slipping her clothes on. She pulled her long, brown hair up into a damp ponytail. She then walked out of the bathroom. Her father was sitting on the side of his bed, rubbing his tired eyes.  
  
"Morning, Daddy." she said.  
  
"Morning, Sweetie." he replied, before grabbing his clothes and retreating to the bathroom for a shower. Tess flipped the overhead lights on and applied a bit of foundation, some blush, silver eyeliner, a small amount of pink eyeshadow, and clear lipgloss. Then, she sat back on her bed and waiting for her father to get ready. He emerged about twenty minutes later, ready to go. Tess nodded and grabbed her purse and gym bag, in case she felt like training that day. Mark turned the lights off and locked the door behind them as they made their way to the rental. They arrived at the arena about fifteen minutes later, and Tess was suprised to see a large amount of news vans in the back parking lot, where the wrestlers parked. She got out of the car, both of her bags slung over her shoulder, and was instantly mobbed by reporters.  
  
"Tess, we hear that you've been sick!" one reporter yelled, shoving a microphone into her face. She jerked her head back and pusehd the microphone away.  
  
"She's got cancer!" another yelled.  
  
"Tess, tell us how you're coping with your cancer!" another reporter yelled. Tess felt like her heart had frozen. Her legs turned to jelly and she stopped in her tracks. Mark grabbed her arm and continued to drag her until they were safely inside of the building. Tess's face was red with anger.  
  
"Daddy, it was Rob who fucking told them!" she yelled. "It had to be him! I'll fucking kill him." she growled. "He's the only person that knows besides you, Chris, and Vince, and we iboth/i know that neither of them would tell." Tess was shaking she was so angry. She turned and began to quickly walk towards the woman's locker room, where she planned to sit and calm down. She burst through the door, and to her dismay, found Rob and Dawn Marie all over each other.  
  
"Get the hell out of here binow/i/b." she hissed, pointing at Rob. He quirked a brow at her.  
  
"Now, we don't need the hostile feelings, Tess..." Rob said, making a move to touch her arm.  
  
"Touch me and I swear I will kick you so hard in the balls you will have to get them removed from your throat. Now get the fuck out." she pointed to the door. "You too." she pointed at Dawn Marie. Dawn immediately got up and walked out, grabbing Rob's hand and dragging him out with her. Tess threw her bags down and sat on one of the benches, resting her head in her hands.  
  
'This day is already beginning and already it's shitty.' she thought.  
  
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A/N: Wow! It's been a long time, hasn't it? Well, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! I'd really appreciate it if y'all reviewed and told me what you think of it, too! =) 


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Disclaimer: See the first three chapters! :-) 

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Chapter Sixteen

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After resting in her father's dressing room for a few moments, Tess unzipped her gym bag and took her gear and clothing out. She walked into the showers and slipped on her elbow and knee pads, a tight, white cropped tank top, loose pants, and her wrestling boots. She grabbed a bottle of water and walked out of the dressing room, towards the room set up with a practice ring and work-out equipment. She spotted her father, along with a few other wrestlers she knew very well. Then her gaze wandered to the ring....where Dawn Marie was leaning against the ropes. Walking over, she reached up and tapped the woman on the leg. Dawn Marie's gaze shifted off of Rob, who was on the other side of the room, to Tess.

"What?" She snapped.

"Want a practice match?" Tess asked, grinning. Dawn Marie stood up and turned around, facing her, with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Are you prepared to get your ass beat, little girl?" She asked with a smirk. Tess just grinned and got into the ring. The two women faced each other before they locked up in the middle of the ring. Tess planted her feet firmly and shoved Dawn Marie, who fell back into the ropes. Dawn Marie quickly bounced back and grabbed Tess around the legs, knocking her to the mat. Tess knew that this wasn't going to be anything like a wrestling match, and she really didn't care. She kicked at Dawn Marie, causing her to let go ofher legs. Tess crawled over to her and grabbed a hand full of her hair, jerking her head up.

"So, who's getting their ass beat?" Tess hissed before driving her face into the mat. Dawn Marie began flailing around and managed to smack Tess. Tess let go of her hair and Dawn Marie lunged at her. The two began rolling around, trying to hurt the other in any way possible.

"I'm going to kill you, you stupid bitch!" Dawn Marie yelled. Tess screamed in frustration as the two continued to fight. All of a sudden, Tess felt arms around her midsection. She was jerked off of Dawn Marie, and she could see Dawn Marie being jerked backwards, too.

"Let me go! Let me go!" Tess screamed, trying to wiggle out of her captor's grip. She turned around and saw that it was Chris. He got her out of the ring and picked her up, carrying her out of training room and into his dressing room.

"Tess, what's gotten into you?" He asked, sitting her down. Tess glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Her stupid boyfriend told the press I have cancer." She snapped, pouting like a small child. Chris shook his head and sat down beside her, taking one of her hands in his.

"I know it's tough...." Chris started. "But sometimes things leak in the WWE. You have to take thebad with the good." He told her. She sat back, contemplating his words for a moment, before nodding.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I still wanted to kick her ass, though." Tess pouted.

"I know sweetheart, I know." Chris said.

"Are you sure I can't?" She asked with a sly grin.

"Nope. It surely couldn't be good for you." Chris said. Completely unexpected to him, Tess turned to him with a glare.

"Thanks for that Chris, now I know you think I'm a piece of glass." She spat. Chris's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, the confusion evident in his voice. "I was just looking out for you. I don't want you to get hurt." He said.

"This is all because I have cancer, isn't it?" She asked.

"No! I care about you, Tess! I know that you haven't trained in a while, and Dawn Marie has been training non-stop lately." He told her with sincerity. She looked at him, an eyebrow raised, before nodding and sitting back.

"I guess you're right." She said sullenly.

"Don't worry, you'll get your shot at her eventually." Chris grinned. Tess returned the grin before standing up and stretching.

"It's been way too long since the last time I worked out." She said.

"Well, if you want to go back in the ring for an honest work out, not an ass kicking, then I'll go in there with you." Chris said.

"Alright. The doctors told me it'd be a good idea to go ahead with my daily routine anyways, they say it'll help fight the cancer cells if I stay active and healthy." She told him.

"How has the chemo been going?" Chris asked in a softer tone. Tess looked at him, offering him a small smile.

"It's been going good. I've been reacting well to it." She said. "I have another treatment tomorrow at three."

"I'll come with you." Chris said. Tess smiled.

"I'd appreciate it." She said. He nodded with a smile.

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The next day, Chris, Tess, and Mark all sat in a secluded room of the local hospital. Tess already had on a hospital gown, and was laying in the bed, by the time a nurse came into the room.

"Now, you've gone through treatments before, correct?" The woman asked. She had an extremely nasaly voice. Tess nodded.

"Yes, ma'am." She replied.

"Alright. I'll just hook you up with the IV and it'll be just like the treatments you had before." The nurse said, before sticking the needle in the back of Tess's hand. She winced slightly as the medicine began pumping into her bloodstream, but after a minute, she relaxed and closed her eyes. She felt Chris take her other hand in his, rubbing the back of it soothingly. Relaxing more, she felt herself begin to drift off.

"Tess," She heard what she thought to be a few moments later. "Wake up." She blinked her light green eyes open. Chris was leaning over her, smiling slightly.

"You fell asleep, hun." He said. "Your treatment is done." She sat up, and almost instantly, a wave of nausea swept over her. She quickly moved from the bed to the bathroom that was connected to the room and threw herself in front of the toilet. She began coughing, and after a moment, felt two hands pull her hair back away from her face. After a few minutes, she felt the nasuea pass.

"Here, I'll get you a-" Chris started.

"What?" Tess asked, turning around to face him. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open as she looked down at his hands. In them were two handfulls of Tess's dark brown hair. She reached a hand up and ran it through her hair. When she pulled it back, long strings of her hair were wrapped around her fingers.

"Oh, Tess..." Chris said, sitting the hair down on the floor beside them. Tess took a deep breath and shook her head.

"It's alright." She said. "I knew that it would probably come to this. Besides, it's just hair, right? It'll grow back once I go into remission." She smiled positively. Chris returned the smile.

"Absoultely." He told her. Tess nodded and stood up, splashing some cold water from the sink on her face before walking back into the room where here dad was sitting. She changed back into her jeans and t-shirt, laying the gown on the bed.

"Ready to go?" Mark asked.

"Yup. Oh, my hair, it's started to come out." She told him nonchalantely.

"Oh..." Mark said, not really knowng how to respond to it.

"I have an idea of what I want to do with it, though." Tess said as a smile creeped across her face. Mark quirked an eyebrow, as did Chris.

"C'mon," She said, motioning for them to follow her. "I'll tell you two in the car."

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	17. Chapter Seventeen

Disclaimer: Y'all know the drill. :-)

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Chapter Seventeen

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"I think that it's a great idea, Tess." Vince said. His hands were folded on his desk in front of him, and Tess sat across from him, her legs crossed at the ankles.

"Alright, so we'll put the notice on today?" Tess asked. Vince nodded.

"We'll put it up now. I want you to go and talk to some of the wrestlers, to see who all will participate in it." Tess nodded and stood up.

"Thank you so much Vince, I really appreciate it." Tess smiled. Vince returned the smile and nodded, and Tess walked out of the room. She made her way down the corridors of the arena, finally coming to the Women's Locker Room about five minutes later. She opened the door and slipped in, seeing only Amy, Trish, Stacy, and Lisa Marie in the room.

"Hey Tess." Amy said with a smile.

"Hey you guys." Tess said, also smiling. "I've come to you all with a little proposition. I just cleared an extra show next week, and I'm trying to find some people to participate in it. Of course I can't wrestle," She started, and all of them nodded. They'd probably heard about her cancer first from the local news, and she knew that Vince had told most of the roster afterwards, while she was getting her chemo threatment. "But you all can."

"What's the show for? Does it pay?" Lisa Marie asked.

"It doesn't pay...it's a benefit show. Vince is calling around to see where we can schedule it at. All of the money made at the show from tickets, merchandise sold, all of the money from the concession, everything, is going to cancer research. At the end of the show, I'm going to have my head shaved, probably by Chris or one of you ladies. I'm donating my hair to Locks of Love." Tess said. Trish looked at her with wide eyes, as did Stacy and Lisa Marie.

"I'm in." Trish said. "I'm sure that Amy or Lisa Marie will wrestle me....right?" She asked, looking at the two.

"Sure." Amy said. "I'd love to help. This is for a great cause."

"I'm in too." Lisa Marie stated.

"I'll help any way I can." Stacy said. Tess smiled brightly at them all.

"Thanks so much you guys. You don't know how much I appreciate it." Tess said. "I gotta go talk to some of the guys about it now. I'll see you guys later!" She said before walking out of the locker room. She once again walked down the corridors, this time a bit longer while looking for the Men's Locker Room. When she finally spotted it, she apporached the door and knocked on it. A few seconds later, the door opened.

"Tess!" Jeff Hardy greeted her, stepping aside so that she could get into the locker room. She walked in, waving her greeting to all of the guys. To her dismay, Rob was in the room. He sat down on a bench near her, looking at Tess with a smirk. She just offered him a forced smile, hoping that her being polite to him, even though he was being nasty to her, would get to him. Chris looked at her and offered a true, warm smile, which she returned. He knew what she was about to do.

"I have a favor to ask of you all, or at least some of you." She said. Jeff shot her a questioning look.

"What is it?" He asked with concern.

"Next week there's going to be a benefit show. All of the proceeds of the show are going to go to cancer research, and at the end of it, Chris is shaving my head. I'm donating all of my hair to Locks of Love." She said, absentmindedly running a hand through her long, wavy hair.

She sat and smiled as a great deal of the guys offered to wrestle at the show. She got down the names she needed and walked back to the Women's Locker Room. There, she pulled a notebook from her gym bag, making a list of the wrestlers who would be working, and then arranging the match card. It didn't take her long to put together an array of spectacular matches.

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The rest of the week, along with part of the next week, was spent finalizing matches and making sure the show would be perfect. The show was set to take place in Atlanta, Georgia.

The day of the show finally came, and Tess was actually nervous. But the show went on with a bang, the fans having a spectacular time. The matches were amazing, and Tess actually felt as if the wrestlers were wrestling the best matches they possibly could for the cause.

The end of the show approached quickly. It was decided that she would wrestle a small match against Trish in a Hair vs. Hair match which Tess would of course lose. It was also decided that instead of Chris shaving her head, Trish would also do that. The girls got in the ring, trash talking each other before actually getting into it. It was only about a ten minute match, with the girls exchanging moves until Trish performed the Bulldog and pinned Tess by having her feet on the ropes. Tess screamed at the ref, running a hand through her hair. He shrugged, mouthing sorry. She kept arguing as Trish dragged her up the ramp and strapped her into the barber's chair. The buzzing of the electric razor hummed in her ear before Trish began shaving all of her hair off. After it was done, Trish walked off triumphantly, and Tess looked at her hair saidly. They swept the hair up as the fans began to leave, and placed it all in a ziplock sack that was ready to be sent off in a package to Locks of Love.

Tess was met with a round of applause as she made her way to the back. All of her friends were around, clapping for her and smiling. Chris walked up to her, slipping his arms around her waist.

"I'm so proud of you," He smiled before hugging her. She hugged him back, and after they broke the hug, Chris dipped down, kissing her gently on the lips.

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A/N: Yay! I'm writing so much tonight!!! 


End file.
